Awaiting Date for Arguing the Motion
The Defendant, Apalachee Publishing Company, also doing business
as the Apalachicola Times, through their Tallahassee counsel, has
filed a rhotion for summary judgment against plaintiffs Jessica Pater-
son, Debra Elliott and Cynthia Nations before Judge Ferris in the
Second Judicial Circuit in and for Franklin County.
This is a civil action involving the placement of a pinhole lens video
camera in the unisex bathroom of the building occupied by the
Apalachicola Times and owned by Defendant John Lee. The plain-
tiffs, Jessica Paterson, Debra Elliott and Cynthia Nations started their
lawsuit by filing a complaint in February 2002. They sought mon-
etary damages, including punitive damages, attorney's fees and costs
for alleged invasions of privacy, negligent hiring, negligent retention,
intentional infliction of emotional distress and invasion of the right of
privacy.
In their motion for summary judgment, the Defendants assert that
the pleadings, depositions and various affidavits show that there is
no genuine issue of material fact, and that the Times is entitled to
judgment in its favor as a matter of law. The motion continues, "...Al-
though there may be genuine issues of fact as to the amount of dam-
ages, Rule 1.501(c) expressly authorizes a summary judgment on the
issue of liability alone. The motion builds its argument for such a
judgment throughout the 20-page brief."
When the motion refers to "the Times," it refers to the weekly
newspaper then owned by Robert and David Lindsay of Sarasota,
Florida, not the current owners, publishers of the Port St. Joe
Star. The Times was sold by the Lindsays last summer to the Port
St. Joe owners before this litigation was concluded.

Background
The Apalachicola Times is a weekly newspaper of general circulation
serving Franklin County. During the time of the alleged events giving
rise to Plaintiffs' complaint, the Times was owned by Apalachee Pub-
lishing Company. The Times employed Defendant John Lee to man'-
age its business operations. At the time relevant to this action, Mr.
Lee had worked for the Times since 1975. He had been general man-
ager since 1980 or 1981. Although Mr. Lee was employed by the Times,
the building in which the Times was housed and where it engaged in
day-to-day operations was built and owned exclusively by Defendant
Lee. Though advised of the general layout of the building and that
security would be installed due to a break-in at a prior location, the
Times was not involved or in any way consulted by Defendant Lee
regarding the type of security to be used or placement of security
cameras in the structure according to testimony from Robert Lindsay
and John Lee.
On or about February 23 or 26, 1998, Plaintiff Paterson entered the
restroom and observed what she believed to be a camera in the ceil-
ing. The bathroom was the only one in the building and was used by
both sexes. Plaintiff Paterson contacted the Franklin County Sheriffs
Department. Plaintiff Paterson did not contact Mr. Lindsay; the owner
of the Times at that time.
The Sheriffs Office confiscated the camera and monitors in Defen-
dant Lee's office and sent them to FDLE for analysis. The law en-
forcement agencies found no evidence that the bathroom area was
ever recorded. In fact, on those occasions when Plaintiffs went into
Defendant Lee's office during work hours, she saw scenes of other
areas of the building on the security monitor, but never saw scenes
from the bathroom. Plaintiff Elliott did not notice a security monitor
at all.
Plaintiffs allege that simply by virtue of their finding a pinhole lens
video camera in the ceiling of the unisex bathroom of the Times, they.
have been subjected to both an invasion of privacy and an invasion of
the right to privacy, endured intentional infliction of emotional dis-
tress, and suffered the effects of negligent hiring and negligent reten-
tion at the hands of either the Times, Defendant Lee, or both.
Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.510(c) provides that a party may
move for summary judgment where the record demonstrates "that
there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving
party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." The Rule goes on to
say that summary judgment may be rendered on the issue of liability
alone, although there may exist a genuine issue as to the amount of
damages. The existence of a dispute as to matters not material to the
disposition of a case will not preclude entry of a summary judgment.
Citing Armstrong. v. Southern Bell Tel. & Tel. Co., 366 So.2d 88 (Fla.
Ist DCA 1979).
Mr. Lee recounted events concerning the discovery of video surveil-
lance equipment in the offices of the Apalachicola Times in February
1998. His deposition was taken in the Grand Jury Room, Franklin
County Courthouse, on Friday, January 10, 2003. His attorney is
Gary Anton (Tallahassee). The attorney for Plaintiffs is William Kemper
Jennings (DeFunlak Springs). This excerpt is from over 150 pages of
transcript for the Lee interrogation. Others deposed included Jessica
Paterson, Debra Elliott and Robert Lindsay.

Q What conversations did you have with Mr. Robert
Lindsey at the time that the camera was discovered in the
bathroom?
A I called him immediately and told him everything that
I knew.
Q What did you tell him that you knew?
A That the sheriffs department had come down and seized
tapes monitoring surveillance cameras from the building. I
called him immediately, and I think that's pretty much the
conversation that we had.
Q Did you tell him that you had installed those cameras?
A I believe that he knew that I had installed a security
system.
Q Did he know you had installed a camera over the
toilet?
A No.
Q Did you tell him that you had installed such a camera
Continued on Page 10

The Ammons et al vs. The
Franklin County Commissioners
legal suit concerning the
re-zoning of agricultural land in
the proximity of residential areas
for the accommodation of a batch
cement plant has been dismissed
by the Department of Administra-
tive Hearings (DOAH). The civil
suit in Circuit Court is still pend-
ing.

Egrets Flock To Open Field Near WOYS Oyster Radio
Hundreds of white Egrets made Eastpoint a temporary stop last week during their winter
transition, drawn to the large, open field adjacent to the Eastpoint Mall.

0 Citizens Lawsuit Still Pending

County Board Resolves A

Human Skeleton Redistricting Plan
C*m i In, -I-

rUUEEU uIF

The remains of a human skeleton
found between Seventh and
Eighth Streets, Apalachicola re-
main unidentified as of press
time. The body was found by
Charles Dickson Brown on Sun-
day, October 26th,2003. The
Florida Dept. of Law Enforcement
sent the body to Tallahassee for
autopsy on Monday, 27 October.
Steve James investigated the in-
cident for the Apalachicola Police
Department. No one has been re-
ported missing in Apalachicola
according to officials at the Police
Department.

Linda Edwards Returns To

Apalachicola As Patsy Cline

By Lisa Szczepaniak
Linda Edwards has returned to the Dixie Theatre as the always memo-
rable, much adored Patsy Cline in the musical production "Always ...
Patsy Cline.' "It has been three years since her last performance as
the loved country music singer.
During these last three years, Linda has kept busy with various pro-
ductions and recitals across the country, a CD production called "Our
Favorite Hymns" with recordings of the wonderful old standbys such
as "Amazing Grace" and "Blessed Assurance," as well as a full family
life with husband Jette Campbell and six-year-old son Coleman.
Her travels have taken her back home to the Flat Rock Playhouse in
North Carolina, Vireo Beach, Knoxville and Los Angeles where she
has performed in "Smoke on theaMountain" and "Sanders' Family
Christmas."
She and her husband and her parents took a trip to England and
Scotland to recreate their honeymoon of ten years ago. Of her hus-
band, Jette, she says, "He is my biggest supporter, my biggest fan. He
is the reason I can do what I do. He loves the theatre and the per-
forming arts. I couldn't do this without him."
When asked how she feels about the possible closure of the Dixie
Theatre, Linda responded, "I know that every production theatreneeds
support from the community. This is no exception. We've become so
spoiled with PV, sit there and punch a remote, we forget how valuable
the arts are. People don't realize what they have until it's gone and I
hope that won't be true here. The Partingtons are wonderful theatri-
cal people and supporters. The arts need the help and support of the
community."
Her new CD "Our Favorite Hymns" is available for sale at the Dixie
and at The Apalachicola Grille. You can also purchase a CD via Linda's
e-mail address at: edwardscampbell@aol.com. Please indicate that
this is a CD order.
The show was as fresh and lively as it was the last time it came to
town. Linda Edwards was in fine voice and form as Patsy Cline. The
role of Louise, as played by Dixie Partington, was both funny and
touching and brought many a laugh as audience participation was
included by way of a dance with a very willing and gracious patron.
The band, "The Bodacious Bobcats-Band," was in fine form as well.
The band members included Karl Lester as Joe Bob on piano, Dan
Cantwell as Billy Bob on lead guitar, Roy Schultz as Bob Bob on
drums and Marc Grove as Jay Bob on bass.
"Always ... Patsy Cline" is always a real draw for the Dixie Theatre as
all of last weekends shows were sold out. Lets hope that the Dixie
Theatre will be able to continue to present such fine performances as
this in the future.
Saturday, November 1st, the Dixie will present "Net Loss," a perfor-
mance and artwork about commercial fishing. Shows will be at 1
p.m. and at 4 p.m.
'The Odd Couple," presented by The Panhandle Players and guaran-
teed to tickle your funny bone, will be showing November 7th, 8th
and 9th at 8:00 p.m. and a Sunday matinee at 3:00 p.m.

At the meeting of the Franklin County Board of Commissioners Board
Attorney Michael Tom Shuler presented a plan to the board which
was approved as a Resolution.
Under this plan, District 1 has 2,081 persons; District 2 with 1,872
persons; District 3 with 1,844 persons, District 4 with 1,975 persons
and District 5 with 2,056 persons. According to the 2000 census
data, supplied by the office of Doris Shiver Gibbs, the population by
district is as follows:

Distribution of Franklin County Population
By Districts
(According to the 2000 Census)
DISTRICT

1
2081

2
1627

3
1305

4
2514

5 Total

2307

9828

Mr. Creamer Ms. Sanders Mr. Williams Mr. Mosconis Mr. Putnal
There were other plans submitted to the Board of County Commis-
sioners at the June 3, 2003 workshop two in particular by Curt
Spangler that considerably narrowed the differences among the five
districts.
While only rudimentary maps of the districts as revised by the County
Attorney, and approved by the Board of County Commissioners, were
available, verbal descriptions of the boundary lines delineating the
districts were described by the County Attorney as follows:

This line separates District 1 from Districts 3 and 4:
Commence at the point of intersection of the line of demarcation and
the middle of West Pass between St. George Island and St. Vincent
Island in Franklin County, Florida, thence in a northeasterly direc-
tion to the centerline of the mouth of the Apalachicola River, thence
in a Northerly direction along the centerline of the Apalachicola River
to the Gulf County Line at the convergence of the Apalachicola River
and Jackson River.

This line separates District 5 from District 2:
Commence at the intersection of the line of demarcation and the
centerline of East Pass between Dog Island and St. George Island,
Franklin County, Florida thence in a northerly direction to the
mid-point of the Intercostal channel, thence in a northeasterly direc-
tion along the Intercostal channel to the mouth of the Carrabelle River;
thence along centerline of the Carrabelle River to its intersection with
the centerline of Averinue B South City of Carrabelle, Florida if said
centerline were extended to the centerline of the Carrabelle River,
thence East along the centerline of Avenue B South to its intersection
with the centerline of Marine Street; thence North along the centerline
of Marine Street to the centerline of Avenue A North; thence West
along the centerline of Avenue A North to its intersection with the
centerline of 1st Street West, thence North along the centerline of 1st
Street West to the South boundary of Section 18, Range 4 West, Town-
ship 7 South, Franklin County, Florida, thence West along said sec-
tion line, not the city limit line, to its intersection with the centerline
of the Carrabelle River; thence in a southwest direction to the centerline
of the New River; thence North along the centerline of the New River
to the Franklin County line.
This Line Separates Districts 3 and 4 from District 1
and District 1 from District 5:
Commence at the intersection of the line of demarcation and the middle
of East Pass between Dog Island and St. George Island, Franklin
County, Florida; thence in a northerly direction to the midpoint of the
Intercostal Channel; thence in a westerly direction to the point of
intersection of the high water mark on the north shore of St. George
Sound and the extension of the center line of Fourth Street in Eastpoint
if Fourth Street was extended southward to the high water mark on
the north shore of St. George Sound, thence northward along afore-
said extension and Fourth Street until it becomes Otter Slide Road;
thence in a northerly direction along the center line of Otter Slide
Road to where the grade stops; thence North to the north line of Sec-
tion 20, Township 8 South, Range 6 West; thence East along the
north line of Section 20 to the northeast comer of Section 20, Town-
ship 8 South, Range 6 West; thence north along the east lines of
Sections 17, 8 and 5 to the northeast comer of Section 5, Township 8
South, Range 6 West; thence West along the north line of Township 8
South to its intersection with the Gulf County line in the Apalachicola
River.

This line separates District 3 from District 4:
Commence at the point of intersection of the centerline of the
Apalachicola River and an extension of the centerline of Avenue E of
Apalachicola, Florida if said centerline was extended northeastward
to the centerline of the Apalachicola River; thence southwesterly from
the point of commencement along the centerline of Avenue E to the
city limits of Apalachicola, Florida; thence north along the city limits
to its intersection with the centerline of the Apalachicola River.

This line separates District 5 from District 2:
Commence at the intersection of the line of demarcation and the
centerline of East Pass between Dog Island and St. George Island,
Franklin County, Florida; thence in a northerly direction to the
mid-point of the Intercostal channel; thence in a northeasterly direc-
tion along the Intercostal channel to the mouth of the Carrabelle River;
thence along centerline of the Carrabelle River to its intersection with
the centerline of Avenue B South City of Carrabelle, Florida if said
centerline were extended to the centerline of the Carrabelle River;
thence East along the centerline of Avenue B South to its intersection
with the centerline of Marine Street; thence North along the centerline
of Marine Street to the centerline of Avenue A North; thence West
along the centerline of Avenue A North to its intersection with the
centerline of 1st Street West; thence North along the centerline of 1st
Street West of the South boundary of Section 18, Range 4 West, Town-
Continued on Page 12

Franklin County Health
Department
The prospective new Health Ad-
ministrator for the Franklin
County Health Department,
Wesley Tice, was introduced to the
Board of County Commissioners.
His appointment will be in Decem-
ber 2003.

County Attorney
Franklin County Legal Counsel
asked and received permission
from the Board of County Com-
missioners to receive service on
behalf of Commissioner Jimmy
Mosconis for the redistricting liti-
gation.

Public Hearing
A request to re-zone Lot 11 "Gulf
View Woods" located in Lanark
Village from R-1 Single Family
Residential to R-la Single Family
residential Subdivision was ap-
proved by the Board.

Redistricting Plan
Tom Michael Shuler, County At-
torney, presented a draft plan for
redistricting to the ,Board of
,County Commissioners as an
agenda item. This event is ex-
plained more fully in a separate
-story on page one of this issue.

Extension Director
'Bill Mahan informed the Commis-
sioners that the Computer Appli-
cations for Clam Farmer's Work-
'shop was held October 2 with 12
;farmers attending.
'He told the Board that his re-
'search into the environmental
;risks for treating Chinese Tallow
'and Japanese Climbing Fern with
'herbicides had not identified any
'toxic results. With regard to Fam-
ily Nutrition Programs, as of Oc-
tober 21st, the U. S. Dept. of Ag-
riculture which funds the Na-
tional FNP Education Program
had not approved the University
of Florida's proposal for 2003 -
2004. The grant was supposed to
have been approved by October
1st. At this point, seven Agents
and 32 program assistants have
been laid off.

MSBU Funding
Steve Fling and others spoke to
the Board about raising the Mu-
nicipal Benefit Service Unit fund-
ing to help in fire protection. They
had shown pictures of their lim-
ited ladder capability in.reaching
high rise buildings and argued for
Increased MSBU funds to pur-
chase ladder equipment. Mr. Fling
recommended that that the
supplementary MSBU rate be
based on square footage as op-
posed to a single, flat fee given to
every household in the county. In
that way, the more expensive and
presumably higher structures
would pay more and receive a
greater fire protection benefit.

Clerk of Court
Kendall Wade expressed consid-
erable concern over future
changes in "surviving the transi-
tion to State funding of the court
system," as recently articulated in
the ARPC briefing book
(Apalachee Regional Planning
Council). As of 1 July 2004, the
State of Florida would take over
the court system completely and
the counties would not be respon-
sible for funding any of the costs.
The problem is multi-faceted and
includes the following:
1. The State Court system was
defined in the revised statutes and
because of that certain services
were left out of the definition that
would need to be eliminated or fi-
nanced by the counties. Teen
Court and Drug Court were left
out of the definition.
2. The question of mediation be-
coming part of the Court system
is still unresolved.
3. Conflict Counsel, required by
the U. S. Constitution was a criti-
cal issue and is currently the re-
sponsibility of the counties, not
the State of Florida.

4. Technology was a large issue
and is currently the responsibil-
ity of the counties, not the State
of Florida.
If the Legislature does not prop-
erly fund these programs, citizens
in the Apalachee region would not
be able to get cases resolved sim-
ply because of unfunded pro-
grams. A lack of funding would
likely impact on decreasing jail
sentences because counties
would be unable to fund basic
inmate services. District 2 Chief
Judge Charles Francis explained
these problems to the ARPC
Council at their September 2003
meeting.

Sumatra Cemetery
Considerable time was given over
to a discussion about the status
of the Sumatra Cemetery with the
Board advising the principal dis-
cussants to "mull over" possible
solutions to the problem of devel-
oping a systematic and orderly
procedure to review and deter-
mine applications for burials in
the county-owned cemetery.
Chairperson Cheryl Sanders was
a tad upset over the controversy
including rumors 'and indecision
regarding the cemetery and in ef-
fect, urged the principals involved
in the issue to get their business
in order and put a stop to feud-
ing and acrimony.

Director of Administrative
Services,
Mr. Pierce Informed the Board
that the county legislative delega-
tion is holding its hearing on No-
vember 3, 5:00 p.m. at the Court-
house annex. Today's county
commission meeting is the last
meeting before the delegation
hearing.
The Board was informed that cer-
tified letters went to the five prop-
erty owners in Block B, Unit 1,
Peninsular Point Subdivision on
Alligator Point as directed by the
Board. These property owners'
land are of value to the county as
it proceeds with efforts to protect
the Alligator Point Road from the
threat of erosion. The outcome, to
date, is as follows:
Lot 1, the owner is willing to do-
nate the lot to the county.
Lot 2, the owner is willing to sell
the lot to the county for the tax
value of $831.
Lots 3-5, the county already
owns.
Lot, 6, the owner is thinking over
the terms but realizes the di-
lemma the county is in, and will
let the county know in a few days
if they are willing to sell.
Lot 7 is willing to sell but wants
to negotiate a better price.
Lot 8 is unwilling to sell and was
insulted by the county's offer. Lot
8 is probably unwilling to sell at
any price. (See Editorial & Com-
mentary, page 3)
Lot 9 has not responded.
"I recommend the Board direct the
County Attorney to draw up con-
tracts for Lots 1 and 2," said Mr.
Pierce.
"I do not recommend any action,
on the other lots until we see what
Lot 6 is going to do. The good news
is that at least it appears we are
going to be able to acquire most
of the lots in sequence until we
get to lots 8 and 9. There the
county may be forced to consider
condemning the property."
The Board received letters from
Florida Communities Trust ac-
knowledging the county's grant
awards. As was announced at the
last Board meeting, the county
received $4 million to purchase
land on St. George Island for a
boat ramp, parking areas, picnic
facilities, and to keep the shore-
line undeveloped. The county also
received $2.6 million for the ac-
quisition of property on Alligator
Point to allow the shoreline to
restabilize and relocate the road.
Mr. Pierce recommended the
Board write a letter of apprecia-
tion to Mr. Keith McCarron of the
ARPC who wrote the grants, and
to DCA who administers the FCT
'program. The total county alloca-
tion of $6.6 million is the maxi-
mum allowed by law, and $6.6
million is 10% of the total money
available to the state, so it is re-
markable that the county was
able to get so much funding in one
year.
"The problem is that the county
has been informed unofficially
that the Alligator Point project
may not get off the ground be-
cause a third party has offered the
current owner more for it than the
county has available. The good
news is that if in fact the county
will not be buying the property it
still may have leverage for getting
a new right-of-way because the
third party may want to request
a zoning change on the property,
. which will need county commis-
sion approval," said Mr. Pierce.
The Board was informed that the
county's flood insurance program
and ordinance was reviewed for
consistency with federal stan-
dards during a site visit August
18 and 19. The county has had a
flood ordinance since the mid
1980s, but the ordinance has not
been amended to keep up with
changes in the federal flood insur-
ance program. Mark Curenton

was interested in suoieasing trom
the National Guard the Armory
building in Apalachicola, or a
building out by the airport. The
Guard does not want to give up
the property as surplus, so that
is why they would like to try to
find someone to sublease the
property. The Guard does not see
a unit using the Apalach Armory
as a base any time soon, but if
the property is determined to be
surplus the Guard loses all con-
trol over it, and the property might
become available to the county,
or some other entity might get it.
The Guard is trying to give the
county or the city of Apalachicola
the first chance at it. "The Board
may want to wait for Commis-
sioner Mosconis before taking any
action, as no deadline has been
given for a decision," advised
Pierce.
The county has been contacted by
a person who wants to put the
Board on notice of a slight en-
croachment by the county on
property he owns. The individual
is not insisting the county get rid
of the encroachment at this time,
but wants it in the record that the
Board was notified of the en-
croachment. The encroachment
deals with a very small part of the1
circular drive that leads into the
hospital. In the northeast corner
of the city square that the hospi-
tal sits on is 0.80 acre of privately'
owned land. It was land that-
Harold Steward obtained, but
then was purchased by another
individual. This is not the land the
nursing home sits on, but is land
in front of and off to the side of
the hospital. Alan Pierce stated he
would be prudent for the Board
to consider buying this land from
the individual as he is interested
in selling it to the county. The
purpose of the acquisition would
be. for the county to have land
available for medical facilities ex-
pansion or lease right next to the
hospital.
Without comment, the Planning
and Zoning Commission recom-
mends the Board schedule a pub-
lic hearing for the consideration
of the proposed large scale land
use change for the Phipps Prop-
erty in the St. George Island Plan-
tation. This 54-acre parcel is cur"-
rently Residential and Resort land
use and the proposal is to change
it all to Mixed-Use Residential.
Members of the audience also
concurred with the decision of P
and Z to recommend the Board
hold a public hearing. Previously,
the Commission recommended
another large scale land use
change be heard called "The
Soundings" -on US 98 between
Eastpoint and Carrabelle.
The time of 10:30 am on Nov. 4th,
the next Board meeting has been
reserved if the Board would like:
to hold the transmittal hearing on,
these two land use changes.
The transmittal hearing for the
Phipps property is the first step
in a large-scale land use change.
If the Board agrees to transmit the
proposal to DCA, the Department
would then review the proposals
and then send back a report in
30 to 45 days, on what they think
of the proposal. The Board would
then have to hold an adoption
hearing if it wanted to adopt the
proposed changes.
The one rezoning request that was
not acted on, because the appli-
cant was not present, was a re-
quest for a rezoning in the C-I
district of Eastpoint to C-4. The
general discussion was that there
were some real concerns with re-
zoning the property away from
C-i. Another option might be to
add some other uses in the C-1,
so that the property would still
have the C-1, but it would pro-
vide more options for the owners
of the property. The Board indi-
cated it would allow restaurants;
small shops and living quarters
upstairs.
The Commission is still working
on the dock ordinance, and if
there is any particular issue about
docks the Board would like to see
addressed, now is the time to
mention it.
The Commission did review, and
does recommend to the Board,
that a new zoning district be cre-
ated for the middle part of the
commercial district onSt George
Island. This district, tentatively
called C-5, would require that the
entire first floor of a building be
commercial, but the upper floors
could be residential. Commis-
sioner Creamer stated he wants
C-1.

Seafood Royalty

recommends the Board prepare
an ordinance with the changes as
required by FEMA. Most of the
changes relate to definitions. One
change did affect the type of im-
provements that can be made to
structures that suffered substan-
tial damage, which is damage
more than 50% of the value. The
Board does not have much choice
in this matter if it is to continue
to participate in the federal flood
insurance program. The Board di-
rected Mark to prepare an ordi-
nance incorporating the required
changes and to advertise it for a
public hearing.
Mr. Pierce was contacted by a rep-
resentative from the Florida Na-
tional Guard to see if the county

Carrabelle City
Council Meeting
October 2, 2003

Carrabelle

Going To Shine

Big-time beautification of
the main drag in the
works.
By Skip Frink
Imagine Highway 98 along the
harbor as a' tree-landscaped av-
enue, with new sidewalks and
lighting, and no telephone poles
and -wires. This was the picture
from Dave Hemphill, Baskerville-
Donovan engineer, and Debbie
Belcher, grant writer from Talla-
hassee. Their report was on
Downtown Streetscape, Phase II.
Phase I was the renovation of
Marine Street, completed last
year.
.If all goes well, according to the
two, all the above will take place
at no cost to Carrabelle. A year
ago they presented the prelimi-
Snary design for what could be
done under grant regulations, and
at this meeting showed the refined
version. Public comments were
favorable, except for "too many"
streetlights. Dave Hemphill re-
plied that they must follow DOT
requirements, since 98 is a US
Highway, and the light coverage
is specified.;
The major remaining snag is the
decision whether or not to bury
the power and telephone lines.
The financial difference between
underground utilities and
aboveground may be consider-
able, but Baskerville-Donovan is
waiting for Progress Energy to
quote the price before any more
progress, so to speak, can be
made. The city has already paid
for the labor to make the quote.
Mayor Brown appointed an ad hoc
committee of 3 from Carrabelle to
research the subject and report
at the November council meeting.
Becky Jackson did not attend due
to medical reasons, and attorney
Gaidry did not attend.

Commissioner Reports
The sole commissioner report was
from Mayor Brown, who after ex-
plaining the financial position of
Carrabelle, asked for support in
his call to put a moratorium on
all new development starts, ap-
'provals of new subdivisions or
re-subdivisions for 60 days. His
goal is to effect an impact fee
structure, so that developers will
be required to pay for the services
to their new areas'rather than the

city. He also wants to establish a
Planning and Zoning board, sepa-
rate from the city commission, to
control future development. No
existing projects that have been
approved will be affected. The
commissioners agreed to hold a
special council meeting October
16 to discuss and vote on. the is-
sue.

Planning and Zoning
Passed: Same property requests
to get a special exception to de-
velopment standards of R-4 to
apply to the parcel, which is zoned
C-2.

Public Hearing
Favorable comments concerning
The Sands of Carrabelle subdivi-
sion request to place 52 units in
Blocks 55(1), Lots 4,5, and 6 of
Kelley's Plat and also Blocks
63(Al), 71(BI), and 72 (B2) of
Pickett's Addition.

Unfinished Business
Approved: Mariners Landing,
Phase II request for preliminary
and final plat approval to subdi-
vide a 3.05 acre parcel into 24
lots.
Approved: Mariners Landing,
Phase III request to subdivide a
4.11 acre parcel into 37 lots for
row housing. Parcel is across the
street from Phase II. Also sketch
plat approval and that the matter
be scheduled for special excep-
tion, final plat approval and if the
minimum setbacks apply to row
housing, that a variance be
granted, so consistency with the
lot sizes may be obtained. Mayor
Brown asked Freda White, who
represented the developer, if she
could buy a ladder fire truck for
the city? Her reply was lost in the
ensuing laughter.
Approved: The Sands of
Carrabelle application described
above.
Approved: Olin Granthum's re-
quest to make improvements to
the city's drainage system near
his proposed Sands of Carrabelle
subdivision. Much questioning
from neighboring citizens was fa-
vorably answered by Mr.
Granthum.
Answered: The question from the
councilors from the September
meeting to Robert Simmons of
Baskerville-Donovan: what is the
status of who is and who is not
equipped with water backflow pre-
vention devices (commercial us-
,ers)? He reported that of the 142,

in the city's inventory, only 40%
are so equipped. The mayor ex-
plained that the urgency of this
issue is that if there is a drop in
water pressure, water will siphon
directly into the low-pressure
area. His example was that with-
out backflow prevention, a drop
in city water pressure will siphon
swimming pool water into the
drinking water supply.
Tabled: BDI proposal to update
the city's backflow prevention or-
dinance and to provide the city
with potable water and sanitary
sewer standards. Mr. Simmons
quoted $4875.
Updated: Vacuum sewer project
nearing completion. 10% of funds
are held, per Simmons.
Updated: Progress on Phase I
water and sewer on 98 going to-
ward Lanark--7600 LF.
Reviewed: Downtown Streetscape
(see top of article).
Tabled: Robert and Selinda
Winchester's request to close the
15-foot alley in Block 140(F8) of
Pickett's Addition. City attorney
not present.
Delayed: decision on speed bump
on W 3 Street between Ave E and
F.
Tabled: For December meeting:
Mr. Michael Yohem's address on
the subject of city water at his lo-
cation, which is forbidden at this
time by court order.
Passed: the contract agreement
between the City and Christine H.
Francis for services rendered con-
cerning accounting records.

New Business
Approved: Prison annexation and
ordinance process.
Approved: Paul Osterbye's an-
nexation and ordinance process
for the Bridge Marine property.
Approved: Donna McCroan's re-
quest from the Gulf/Franklin
County Health Dept to mark with
signs a walking path around the
Tillie Miller Kiddie Park.
Got Attention: Jim Lycette's ad-
dress concerning the dying
shrimping industry in Carrabelle.
His contention was that with ma-
rine property all going to devel-
opers, one day all shrimpers will
have to move to cities with mari-
nas. Jim Brown wholeheartedly
agreed, and offered to join a com-
mittee to work on money sources
to preserve a commercial dock in
the harbor.
To Attorney: request from
Carrabelle Plaza for city sewer.

- ppntinued on Page 4 .

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A LOCALLY OWNED NEWSPAPER

31 October 2003 Page 3

EDITORIAL & COMMENTARY

Operation Hero Miles

The following is a letter to the constituents of North Florida from
Congressman Allen Boyd (D-North Florida):
To All North Floridians:
Today, I would like to invite each of you to join me in supporting our
troops who are serving our country in Iraq. Many of our men and
women in uniform have been granted two weeks leave, and are being
flown from Iraq to Baltimore-Washington Airport (BWI) by the De-
partment of Defense. However, once they arrive at BWI they must pay
for their connecting flights to their hometowns. I am greatly concerned
with the added financial burden soldiers will have to shoulder in or-
der to see their families and friends for the short time they are in the
US.
Fortunately, Delta Airlines has taken the lead by becoming the first
airline to institute the innovative program "Operation Hero Miles."
This program allows people to donate their frequent flier miles for the
homebound soldiers to use in order to obtain flights home. I am per-
sonally challenging other airlines to institute and promote this pro-
gram as well. This is an opportunity for everyone with spare miles to
help bring our soldiers back to their hometowns. Last week, I voted to
set funds aside for the Pentagon to start paying for these flights. Still,
I fear these funds will not be available in time for those returning in
the coming weeks.
Today, I am personally donating 50,000 frequent flier miles to this
program. I challenge everyone in North Florida to join me in this ef-
fort to ensure that every enlisted person stationed in Iraq will be able
to get home without being faced with this unfair burden. This pro-
gram costs the government nothing, and it will get our troops home
with no cost to them or their families: My staff and I will be working to
donate as many miles as possible, and I encourage everyone to par-
ticipate.
For additional information on Operation Hero Miles, and to enroll in
the program, please visit my website: www.boyd.house.gov and ac-
cess the link to Delta Airlines.
Sincerely,
Congressman Allen Boyd

Lanark W&S Meeting Cancelled

The regular monthly meeting of the Lanark Village Water & Sewer
District scheduled for 2:00 p.m. Tuesday October 21, 2003 at Chillas
Hall was canceled and the Board is not scheduled to meet again to do
business until November 18, 2003. The LV W&S District and the
Carrabelle W&S District have been in discussion about a consolida-
tion of the two Districts. There are time sensitive issues on the table
that will benefit the residents of the Lanark District that need to be
acted on by the Lanark District Board.
By not holding a regularly scheduled public meeting the Lanark Board
has denied the residents of the Lanark District a public forum in
which they can express themselves on this issue. The cancellation of
a public meeting also denies the Lanark residents knowledge of the
business activities of the Lanark District Board that represents the
interests of the Lanark District residents. At a workshop between
Lanark and Carrabelle, held October 7, 2003, Lanark District de-
murred about a consolidation decision so another workshop was
scheduled for Monday night November 10, 2003 at Chillas Hall.

The Beat Goes On ... Alligator Point

Erosion Continues

The first letter is an offer from Franklin County to buy property owned
by William Wargo. The second letter is his response to that offer, and
his opinion about the man-made erosion he says is continuing.
October 6, 2003
Mr. William Wargo
P.O. Box 589
Panacea, FL 32346
RE: Lot 8, Block B, Unit 1, Peninsular Point
Dear Mr. Wargo:
The Franklin County Board of County Commissioners is confronted,
with a serious public safety issue over the maintenance of Alligator
Drive. You own a lot within the area that is suffering from the most
critical erosion. The Board is moving forward with plans to stabilize
the road but that can not be done within the existing right-of-way.
The county had the Alligator Drive surveyed recently and most of the
lot you own is no longer above mean high tide. The Board is prepared
to buy your lot for the current assessed value. The current assess-
ment of your lot by the Franklin County Property Appraiser is $852.00
If you are willing to sell your lot for this amount please notify this
office within 15 days. If you are interested in donating your lot to the
county that will also be acceptable. If you are willing to sell or donate
your lot, please sign below and return this letter to me. The county
will provide you a notice of your donation, which might be of value to
you during tax time.

Dear Mr. Pierce:
My family's answer is an emphatic no to Franklin County's insulting
offer to buy our beach for $852. That beach is our dream. We know
the dynamics of that beach better than anyone else. We bought prop-
erty on Alligator Point 30 years ago and made the family decision to
move there permanently 23 years ago. The beach lot is the source of
enjoyment for us as well as many neighbors and friends. The value of
the beach lot is inextricably linked to the other three lots that I own
and where my house is situated. It is a package of 4 lots that has
provided endless years of pleasure.
You stated at the September 15 Commissioners' meeting that the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is planning a project to ex-
tend the revetment 1000 feet farther to the east and that they were
the ones who suggested that the beach lots be purchased by Franklin
County. How asinine! It is well known that beaches, like mine, will
naturally lose and re-build sand. But, the erosion that you see today
was caused by the man-made walls that induce the scouring away of
sand when storm events hit them. Revetments, walls, and bulkheads,
like the ones at Alligator Point re-establish the waterline at their base
and destroy the very beach that is the cushion against erosion. Not
only does it permanently destroy the beach, but it situates the water's
edge dangerously close to the road edge. The rocks and walls that
have turned Alligator Point into an environmental slum need to be
removed, not extended.
For years I have protested against the placement of rocks and walls
on the beach. I have written and stated my objections numerous times
over the years and have personally held Franklin County and USACE
responsible for the crimes against the environment that these walls
have caused. Time is long overdue for Franklin County and USACE
to stop and to undo their wanton destruction of our beaches.
For your information, I called the Franklin County Taxing Authority
this morning to get the current appraised value of my beach lot. Both
the market and assessed values of the lot are $15,984. My conversa-
tion with supervisor Rita Millender confirmed these figures as well as
the attached statement that she faxed to me.
The beach lot that you are offering to buy for a mere $852.00 is price-
less to my family. Again, my answer to your offer is NO!
Respectfully,
William D. Wargo

Correction To P&Z Meeting Of

September 9, 2003

The P&Z Board members unanimously recommended that the
re-zoning request by Joey Rowell, owner of Tracts A, B & C of Lot
11, Gulf View Woods, Lanark, Franklin County, Florida, to be
re-zoned from R- 1 Single Family Residential to R- 1A Single Fam-
ily Residential Subdivision District, be presented to the Board of
County Commissioners for approval.

"Miami's
Favorite" At
Apalachicola's
Beloved Dixie

Theatre

What brings an internation-
ally-known jazz ensemble' to a
small Florida panhandle town of
3000 for a two-night jazz, blues
and folk festival?
Two answers: The Dixie Theatre
and Bill Spohrer. Come to
Apalachicola, Florida, November
14 and 15 for oysters and jazz.
For a good cause and jazz. For
fun, sun, and cool jazz. Hey,
Spohrer and the community just
hope you will come!
The historic Dixie Theatre in
Apalachicola, Florida is reason
enough to visit this small Florida
coastal town, but add to that the
Brian Murphy Miami Jazz En-
semble with saxophonist Joe
Donato (Miami's favorite) on stage
at the 175-seat Dixie for two
nights. The septet will have
friends from the area.performing
with them, including Paula held.
The festival show times begin at
8:00 p.m. During day-time hours
the quaint shops will be welcom-
ing festival goers and strolling
sidewalk performers will regale
the crowd.
What does Bill Spohrer, a resident
of Apalachicola and South
Florida, have to do with all of this?
Spohrer has known and followed
Donato and his group for decades.
-He also wants to keep the Dixie
Theatre alive and vigorous in his
adopted Gulf Coast town of
Apalachicola. So, it naturally oc-
curred to him "that Apalachicola
and the Dixie Theatre is the per-
fect venue for a new jazz/blues/
folk festival that has been so suc-
cessful In other places through-
out the world." Spohrer adds that
"Apalachicola is so fortunate to
get a group like the Brian Murphy
Miami Jazz Ensemble to kick off
this festival." Joe Donato, too, is
pleased. "I am absolutely de-
lighted and so Is my band."
Donato explains the band empha-
sizes "modern Jazz," but that does
not mean they "overlook the tra-
dition of jazz from its beginnings."
"You have to appreciate all of the
history of jazz to play 'modem
jazz,"' he says.
Tickets will be on sale at the Dixie
Theatre Box Office November 11-
15, Tuesday Saturday from noon
to 3:00 p.m. & Friday & Satur-
day, November 14 & 16 From 7-8
p.m. You may also obtain tickets
y calling the box office at any
time and leaving a message and
someone will return your call. The
Dixie Theatre is located at 21 Av-
enue E, Apalachicola, Florida.
The telephone number is
850-653-3200.
For more Information, call Beth
Blair at 850-653-4021

A Real Hoot At "The Owl"

Photo by Michelle Bird

By Lisa Szczepaniak
Last Wednesday, October 22nd, marked the sixth anniversary for the
Owl Caf6 in historic downtown Apalachicola. As their way of thank-
ing the community, The "Owl", as it's affectionately called, put on a
splendid party. They provided a good sampling of culinary delights,
beer and wine and had "The Wombats" as special musical guest art-
ists for our listening and dancing pleasure. According to Susan Gary,
part owner of The Owl Caf6, "This was the best turnout we've had
since starting the parties six years ago. It's just our way of thanking
all of our customers and patrons."

Mayor leads revamping of infrastructure pay
Structure
By Skip Frink request that will cost over a mil-
y Skip Fnklion dollars before the first home
The city, led by Mayor Jim Brown, can start. Carrabelle "doesn't have
is holding special meetings fre- that kind of money."
quently over the next few weeks The Mayors plan is to requir de-
to gi e eve citizen the opartic- velopers to foot the bill for infra-
nity tobneard and to partici structure. At the October 16
pate in the process of preparing structure. At the October 16
Carrabelle to be ready for the meeting, after long discussions,
massive growth that is almost the council voted to support the
apon us. motion to effect a moratorium on
tpon us. all new building starts for 60 days.
Even though we do not enjoy end- The reason for. that period of time
less available land, due to large was explained to be that sufficient
tracts of national and state forest public notice and hearings would
and privately held tracts, even take at least that long. At the in-
small subdivisions are expensive
to prepare for buildings. The Continued on Page 8
mayor quoted a new subdivision

Franklin County Public Library

News And Happenings

By Judi Rundel
The Franklin County Public Library's FROG Family Learning Pro-
grams, TIGERS, WINGS, and staff members will be participating in
the 40th Annual Florida Seafood Festival Parade beginning at 10:00
a.m. in Apalachicola on Saturday, November 1st. All registered fami-
lies and children are invited to march along with the Library's van
and float.
The FROG Family Learning Programs will be holding Parenting Classes
during the month of November. Marilyn McCann, Refuge House Coun-
selor, will speak about Managing Holiday Stress and its Effect in the
Home. This timely program will be held at the Carrabelle Branch on
Monday, November 3rd at the Apalachicola Program site (New Life
Center on 8th Street) on Thursday, November 6th, and at the Eastpoint
Branch on Thursday, November 13th. All programs will be held from
5:30 6:30 p.m.
The Franklin County Public Library's FROG, WINGS, and TIGERS
offer many programs that are free and open to the public. Registra-
tion, however, is required. For information about being in the parade,
parenting classes, and other upcoming programs, please call
670-4423, 697-2091, or 653-2784,

iA NOW OPEN!

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k: NINcr ON THI ,WATER

'-/R4ppBQ-s

Hickory-smoked the old-fashioned
way with all thd fixns prepared from
our own recipes.
NOW OPEN IN CARRABELLE
LUNCH BUFFET Sun.-Fri.
SUPPER BUFFET Mon.-Fri.
HOBO'S ICE CREAM
1593 West Highway 98-Carrabelle
697-2776
'Worth Driving 100 Miles For."
Open 6 days 11:00 a.m. 9:00 p.m.
Closed Tuesday
Thank you for letting us serve you.!

CARRABELLE

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Just 400 yards North of Highway 98 on N. Bayshore Dr. in Eastpoint
Follow the Signs to Good Times!

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St. James Island

Overlay Workshops

By Harriett Beach
The St. Joe Company held work-
shops on October 16 and 23,
2003, to discuss future develop-
ment ideas for St. James Island.
St. James Island is the 49,011
acre eastern portion of Franklin
County. The Crooked River tract
of 16,000 undeveloped acres in
the western portion of St. James
Island is in the process of State
acquisition. On the eastern end
of St. James Island is Bald Point
State Park. All the rest of the Is-
land acreage is either developed
or has the potential for some fu-
ture development.
rhe second and third in a series
f six St. Joe Company workshops
was facilitated by Billy Buzzett of
the St. Joe Company. Approxi-
mately 45 people attended each
of the last two workshops which
were focused on the Natural Re-
sources and Environmental Over-
lay of the undeveloped areas of St.
James Island. Darla Miller, Biolo-
gist, and Jim Sellen, Planner were
present with maps of the area and
served as resource people to an-
swer questions about what The
St. Joe Company knows about the
land that it owns.
A regional map was displayed as
well as maps of: conservation and
recreation areas, existing commu-
nities and their infrastructure, to-
pographic features of the Island,
FEMA flood plain, locations of
eagle nests and bear sighting,
soils and aquifer rehydration ar-
eas and archeological sites. The
audience was invited to add in-
formation to the maps as ,they
have lived in the area and have
valuable information to share.
County Commissioner Cheryl
Sanders spoke to the group and
emphasized that all the informa-
tion was not in and on the maps
but was the intangible quality of
really caring for this land and pro-
tecting it. The audience responded
to her by discussing what kind of
development should occur and
how to control development den-
sity. They stressed that some ar-
eas of St. James Island are suit-
able for development and some
areas are best left undeveloped.
The land lying between Hwy. 319
and Hwy. 98 will probably be the
best area for development.

Juice & Java

Stop in for great
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same great co
FOOD, FUN
49 West Pine Ave*
850-9

Natic ad S
T AndtLqmes
The largest
collection of
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Tabled: budget amendment for a
part-time police officer.
Approved: computer and soft-
ware for the Police Dept at a cost
.of $4270.
Discussed: training and travel for
police officers.
Approved: the following institu-
tions for continuing education for
police officers:
Tallahassee Community College
FSU School of Criminology
Pat Thomas Law Enforcement
Academy
Inst. of Police Technology &
Management
Gulf Coast Community College
Tabled: speed bumps on Ryan
Drive and Three Rivers Road.
Passed: Authorization for mayor
to select the lowest bid on new
vehicle for Police Dept and send
for a bid from local banks. Mayor
Brown chose the low dealer bid
of $22,204 for a 2004 Ford Ex-
plorer from Cook-Whitehead
Ford.
Tabled: Plate compactor pur-
chase for the Streets/Roads Dept.
Passed: Budget amendments to
the FY 2002-03 budget to move
funds around.
First Reading: Proposal ordi-
nance for grinder pumps (sewer).
Also to city attorney. The ordi-
nance will call for the city to take
over all responsibility for mainte-
nance except for cases of willful
damage.
Tabled: New code ordinance pro-
posal.
Adjournment.,
,10 p.m.

Party Delivered The Memo To "Others"
While the Annual Meeting of the St. George Plantation Owner's Assn.
was held Saturday, October 11, 2003, with a lengthy agenda includ-
ing the election of two board members, and a rather "quiet" session
gaveled by acting President Boyd Ellison, political machinations con-
tinued as before. In this instance, the intercepted memo sent by Ellison
to the board members, excluding Donna Butterfield, warned them of
his perception that "Donna and her audience" are going to attempt to
make trouble at the meeting. Well, no such "trouble" occurred except
to contradict Mr. Ellison on some mistaken recitation of events about
legal memoranda. Yet, this memo reveals a mindset designed to ex-
clude one of the duly elected board members at the Plantation in
defiance of the general membership. This has been the pattern of Mr.
Ellison's policies for sharing information for the last few meetings I
have attended. Incidentally, "Donna's audience" includes bonafide
members of the Plantation association who are also frustrated with
the continued dissatisfaction of how our money is being managed
and spent. This is what Mr. Ellison calls "insanity," a "cesspool" of
argument, discussion and dialogue quite consistent with democratic
practice, except at the Plantation Board of Directors meetings. The
Board does not like anyone to disagree with them on any point what-
soever.
Here is the memo:

i

There are indications that Donna and her audience are going to attempt to make trouble at
the meeting.
I would remind you that (1) There will not be a quorum present, and any votes not on the
preprinted ballot will carry no weight and (2) Florida law and our governing documents
state that the Board of Directors not the membership is responsible for the management
of the "affairs of the corporation". Even if a majority of the membership voted in favor of an
"affair of the corporation" measure, it would be advisory only. And (3) as near as I can
determine Donna's coterie consists of 24 26 members, all of whom will probably be there,
but the total membership numbers over 640.
I intend to squelch any attempt to gain the floor by any member during any part of-the
agenda except "Comments from members," and any comments during that time which are
inflammatory or abusive to any member or employee will be gaveled "out of order."
I will ask each of you to read the section on PENALTIES beginning on page 210 of your
Robert's Rules and pray that it doesn't come to this. If it should and a vote to remove an
offender is passed, I am asking Flip and Russell (plus an association member I will select
Saturday) to be the escort committee.
Most of the attack will probably be aimed at Nick for his actions with Tony. I have been very
close to the whole affair and can assure you that Nick has acted properly and prudently. He
has my complete and unwavering support. If you are not aware of all the facts, I invite you
to call me before the-meeting to discuss them. I will be arriving on the island some time
Wednesday afternoon and will be happy to discuss it with you.
After the September board greeting I felt as if I had spent seven hours wading through a
cesspool. I WILLL NOT LET THAT HAPPEN AGAIN. I need your backing and support in
this. The insanity has to be stopped and we must be allowed to get on with the business of
the Association.
Boyd

After Two Months on the Job

General Manager Of St. George

Plantation Owners' Association Resigns

Acclaimed as the 'first" Professional Manager Hired
Touted as the first professional manager for the St. George
homeowner's association by Board of Director member Philip Froelich,
Nicholas J. Mazzarella turned in his resignation to the Board of Di-
rectors, effective on October 31st. He began his position on August
12, 2003 following a nationwide search conducted essentially by three
of the seven members on theBoard'of Directors of the Association.
No reason for the resignation was given. Mr. Mazzarella was given a
large vote of confidence in the exclamations by Philip Froelich, who
-introduced him to the general membership during the Annual Meet-
ing of the Association on October 10th.
While the directors approved his contract, with the only "no" vote by
Donna Butterfield, his appointment was not without controversy. His
salary was negotiated by Froelich and others at the level of $63,700
with up to $9,500 living expenses labeled "relocation expenses". He
also received permission from the Board to live in Gulf County. Asso-
ciation dues were also paying about $800 monthly for a house he
rented in Apalachicola in addition to a two year contract without a
probation period.
Mr. Mazzarella has had 15 years of experience in community associa-
tion management mainly in the Pocono Mountains,. Pennsylvania.
Among his responsibilities were to manage the St. George Plantation
Association with its reported $1,619,523 budget for 2004.
There was some controversy surrounding Mr. Mazzarella's negotia-
tions and appointment within the last few weeks. Former Director
Donna Butterfield recommended to the Board that they establish a
grievance committee to hear employee complaints but the Board mem-
bers rejected the motion. Within a few days, Mr. Mazzarella fired Tony
Shiver, who has subsequently consulted with an attorney for either a
formal grievance or lawsuit. The Board has now agreed to establish
some sort of grievance procedure to handle those kinds of disputes.

Publisher's Note: Homeowner Associations continue to garner
state headlines, and now, because of the abuses, state govern-
ment appears to be getting involved. While these early associa-
tions were the products of developers, who sometimes relinquished
control reluctantly, the rights of homeowners in these gated com-
munities are still being abused. Cyber Citizens for Justice is one
such private lobby group trying to change the law in Florida over
these gated communities. Contact also Jan Bergemann at
www.ccfi.net. There are dozens of private lobby groups contact-
ing their legislators, urging more investigation and eventual
changes in state law regulating these associations. As in the in-
stances of malfeasance and misfeasance in municipal and county
government, violations committed in the operation of the gated
communities ought to carry jail terms and heavy fines for abuses
of individual rights and property rights of homeowners, along
with procedural safeguards.

Homeowner Association Feuds

Draw State Scrutiny

By Joe Kollin
Staff Writer, Sun-Sentinel
Reprinted By Permission
October 19, 2003
When their neighbors voted to restrict rentals at their Amelia Island
condominium, Stephen and Judy Comley began a battle that landed
in the state Legislature.
At the same time, George Anli.--. i It'.ht I th his Jupiter homeowner
association over his U.S. flag. ii i I t, I i ,IH attention of Gov. Jeb Bush.
The two disputes led to two state task fo res to determine whether
the boards of directors of condomitiumi and homeowner associations
abuse their power and whether laws are needed to rein them in.'
What the committees recommllendt, if.ii\hiin1. could affect the 5 mil-
lion to 7 million 1 it 1 i. fitmlies who live In buildings and communi-
ties with mandaloty associations,
Bush and House Speaker Jolonie Byrd contend the task forces are
needed because boards have gone awry, the laws written in the early
1990s to regulate boards may not. go far enough and homeowners
need more protection from their boards.
Continued on Page 5

Tho F ~'.~rank1 nChrnnipltp,

A LOCALLY OWNED NEWSPAPER

31 October 2003 Page 5

Homeowner Assn. Feuds from Page 4

Rep. Julio Robaina, R-Miami, convened a hearing in Miami last month.
Despite a lack of publicity, it attracted 400 angry condo owners.
"We've opened a Pandora's box," Robaina said. "We're hearing com-
plaints about everything from fraud in elections to no accountability
by boards to nepotism to criminals serving as managers to two and
three special assessments a year. There's no enforcement because
the state doesn't have any laws to get investigators out to properly
investigate and get state attorneys involved."
The House committee, which consists of seven state representatives,
plans to have its next meeting in Broward County, but has not yet
determined a day or location.
The Comleys, of Frye Island, Maine, helped convince Byrd that the
task force was needed.
The couple, who paid $465,000 for their North Florida apartment in
1996, were angry because more than two-thirds of their neighbors in
the 28-unit complex voted to change the renting rule.
The couple had been renting the apartment to tenants by the month,
but the new rule set a six-month minimum. Unable to find tenants to
rent that long, the Comleys feared they would be forced to sell the
unit.
After the referendum, the Comleys told neighbors of their plight. Ac-
cording to Stephen Comley, more than half the owners agreed to
change their votes to allow his monthly rentals, but the condo board,
refused to allow a new vote.
The Comleys then asked legislative leaders to change state condo law
to include what Florida Supreme Court Justice Peggy Quince called
an "escape" provision. Although the court in 2002 upheld the right of
owners to rewrite their rental rules, she realized this could deprive
owners of "valuable rights" they had when they purchased. She sug-
gested the Legislature change the law.
Following the Comleys' visit, Byrd created the committee.
They also went to see Senate President Jim King, R-Jacksonville, who
asked one of his committees to look at writing an escape provision in
the condo law.
As the House and Senate leaders were working, Bush, acting on his
own, ordered the Department of Business & Professional Regulation
to create a committee "to examine the challenges that [homeowner]
associations face."
The 15-member committee, which receives no state money to oper-
ate, includes owners, directors, attorneys and real estate specialists.
So far, it has met in Tallahassee and at the University of Miami Law
School in Coral Gables.
Bush acted after learning that Andres, a former Marine, could lose
his house because he insisted on flying his U.S. flag from a 12-foot
flagpole instead of-from brackets attached to his Jupiter house. The
association's rules allow flags only with brackets.
After Andres refused to take down the flagpole, the Indian Creek
Homeowners Association Phase IIIB imposed fines. He refused to pay
and the association filed a suit to foreclose to collect more than
$300,000 in fines and legal fees. The case is pending in the 4th Dis-
trict Court of Appeal in West Palm Beach.
Bush wrote to Andres, saying he was "shocked at the difficulties you
confronted merely because you wished to fly a small United States
flag in front of your home."
Homeowner associations in Florida have more power than condo as-
sociations and city governments. Neither a city nor a condo can fore-
close on a house when the owner refuses to pay a fine for violating a
rule or ordinance. Homeowner associations can and do.
The two Florida committees are expected to issue reports before the
start of the legislative session March 2.
Not everyone agrees on the need for the committees or that new laws
are the answer.
Condo law has evolved during 30 years and now is 90 pages long. The
law governing homeowner associations is nine years old and 14 pages
long.
'These communities are the most over-regulated and over-legislated

in the state," said uary Pollakoff, whose Fort Laudercale-Ibased law
firm pioneered condo and homeowner law and represents 4,000 as-
sociations in Florida. "We dictate to private property owners what
they can and can't do in their communities and I think we've reached
the point where it is difficult for residents to function because of the
degree of regulation that exists."
What is needed instead of more laws is enforcement of those on the
books, he said.
Jan Bergemann of.St. Augustine is president of Cyber Citizens for
Justice, a grass-roots organization fighting for the rights of owners in
both condo and homeowner associations. He suggests the state cre-
ate an agency similar to the Nevada Commission for Common Inter-
est Communities to enforce the laws.
It should, he said, regulate all mandatory association housing and be
supported with a $4 annual fee from each unit owner.
But that isn't likely, according to Joe Adams, a Fort Myers-based
attorney who serves on the homeowner association task force.
Bush's marching orders to his task force were to "make recommen-
dations for legislative change consistent with Gov. Bush's vision for
government and regulation."
Bush's vision is less government and less regulation.
Joe Kollin can be reached at jkollin@sun-sentinel.com or 954-385-
7913. Copyright 2003, South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Visit Sun-
Sentinel.com.

Making A Play

The Panhandle Players and the Odd Couple

By Dawn Evans Radford
They have rehearsed for weeks,
dealing and throwing in their
cards, learning British accents,
whimpering, bantering and whin-
ing through hundreds of lines,
chasing down a panoply of props,
setting the stage for The Odd
Couple. Beginning Friday, Novem-
ber 7, the Panhandle Players will
throw their reputations into a
weekend of comedy at the Dixie
Theatre in Apalachicola. Count-
ing down from six weeks, two
weeks, one, then finally mere
hours and minutes before the di-
rector signals Curtain Time, the
cast and crew of The Odd Couple
are busy rehearsing this smash
Broadway play by Neil Simon.

Janet Christenson of St. George
Island is one of two assistant
stage managers for the play. "The
Odd Couple first opened in New
York's Plymouth Theatre nearly
40 years ago on March 10, 1965.
While it may be 40 years old, it's
still popular-funny, very funny
from beginning to end. Neil Simon
has a new play opening on Btoad-
way in December, so he's still pro-
ducing and fans still enjoy his
plays.
Christenson assists stage man-
ager Laura Moody of Apalachicola,
known throughout the Panhandle
for years of efficient and tireless
managing of community projects
and details for the Historical So-
ciety, Woman's Club, and a vari-
ety of other volunteer organiza-
tions. Hundreds of stage props are
only one of her many stage man-
agement concerns, which include
lights, curtains, cue prompters,
curtain calls, emergencies, tim-
ing, and safety. Her sound effects
crew include Elizabeth Kilbourn,
high school student, and Cyndy
Emrich, park ranger at St. Joseph
State Park. Moody says that
"sound-effects crew sounds bet-
ter than toilet flusher. Listen! You
don't know how hard it was to get

Franklin .

Bulletin
Board

Sea Oat & Coastal Erosion Work-
shop-The Franklin County Soil
and Water Conservation District
(SWCD) and the USDA Natural
Resources Conservation Service
(NRCS) will host a Sea Oat &
Coastal Erosion Workshop to be
held November 13, 2003 at thle St.
George Island Fire Department,
324 E. Pine Avenue, St. George
Island. The public workshop will
begin at 1:00 p.m. (EST). Two
speakers, Dr, John Hovanesian (a
hydroponics businessman) from
Milton and Sam Sanders of
USDA-NRCS in Gainesville will
present the program. The topic of
the program will include building
and maintaining sand dunes with
vegetation and sand fencing, as
well as the latest methods of es-
tablishing sea oats and other
adapted coastal plant species. If
you own or have an interest in
coastal properties, or just like to
learn about current coastal ero-
sion control methods, then plan
to attend this workshop. For more
information call Brian McGraw or
Cathy Davis at the SWCD/NRCS
office in Blountstown, at 850-674-
827 1.

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a tape recording of a flushing toi-
let for this play." Moody also keeps
track of all crew and cast mem-
bers during rehearsal and pro-
duction, even those off stage.
A Panhandle resident since 1993,
Joe Shields is a marine biologist
and soccer team coach in real life.
The Odd Couple will complete his
first full year with the Panhandle
Players. He enjoys "the multidi-
mensional good-cop character" he
portrays. "I hope he comes across
as a multi-dimensional character
... depends on if I memorize my
lines. Otherwise, Murray the cop
may come across as an idiot."
An important part of the produc-
tion is not a member of the cast.
Movita Toomey of St. George Is-
land, originally of England, has
coached Linda Elsea's and Cathy
Watts' British accents to comple-
ment their roles as the Pigeon sis-
ters. Watts, Postmaster of the
Eastpoint post office, enjoys the
light-hearted character of her Pi-
geon sister part. She has directed
and assisted in other Panhandle
Players productions, and is hav-
ing fun in this, her first experi-
ence on the stage. Linda Elsea, a
speech pathologist and former
middle school teacher, likes her
"distinctive Pigeon sister role,
which is a little on the trashy side
and great fun."
Director Pam Vest of St. George
Island agrees that The Odd Couple
is fun as well as very funny. "Au-
diences love comedy. They want
to laugh. Yet Simon's play is based
on real people in odd circum-
stances, and how they deal with
their crises. The two lead cltarac-
ters, Oscar and Felix, can't seem
to live in a close relationship with
anyone. Even their wives don't
want them. Other people can't get
along with them. Both are eccen-
tric-one impulsive, one compul-
sive. A lot of us have found people
we've liked, loved, but can't live
close to, in the same house. I've
had friends like that."
"Yet Felix and Oscar need one
another, and this need ultimately
wins out. They have instances of
Pathos, which the audience may
eel comes a little too close to
home. People who've experienced
divorce or separation may iden-
tify, even those happily married
will identify with the struggles in-
volved in keeping that marriage
happy."
"When it all comes down, the two
main characters know what's
wrong with themselves, but they
just can't fix it. Neil Simon is good
about balancing comedy with the
serious. People will leave the play
feeling good."
Local actors include Hank
Kozlowsky, retired attorney and
ABC School Board member, arid
Tom Conner, historic home re-
storer and former camera-sound
man for national television net-
works. Director Vest herself has
worked as a media relations spe-

cialist for the Kentucky Supreme
Court and a columnist for the New
York Times. Cast and Crew mem-
bers live in Apalachicola,
Eastpoint, St. George Island,
Carrabelle, and Port St. Joe.
Ed Tiley of Apalachicola portrays
the impulsive half of the Odd
Couple. He says that for years he
has been "biding my time, wait-
ing for a chance" to play the part
of Oscar. He likes Neil Simon's
work, because "Simon came out
of television where every word
counts. There are no extra words
in this play. It's well crafted, and
you just can't know how funny
this play is if you haven't seen it."
This is the fourth production in
which Tiley has worked with
Royce Hodge, who will play Felix.
Tiley expresses delight at work-
ing with Hodge: "Royce has a good,
grip on stagecraft. A really good,
handle. He knows what he's do-
ing. If one of us blows a line, we'll
go on and do what we're supposed
to do. Some actors will freeze up;
like a deer in headlights, but'
Royce knows what that character:
would say under any circum-
stances."
"A really good theater piece rattles
around in your brain for days and
weeks. You mull it over and mine
it for little nuggets that stay there
long after thelights are out. The
Odd Couple is one of those intel-
ligent plays that has content
deeper than the comedy. Each
character is fully evolved and
complex, even the simplest char-
acter in there, Roy. Yet there's a
subtlety to him that is very deep."
Tiley's stage experience includes
a non-speaking part in Cabaret,
in which he wore two "monkey
suits": a tuxedo, with a quick
change into a gorilla costume. He
played a lead' part in Imaginary
Invalid, Mollere's classic comedy,
in which he had no understudy
and played two performances
with the flu and 103 degree fever.
For Tiley, acting is rewarding and
pleasant, because "you get to live
twice in the same moment. For a'
while, I won't be Ed Tiley. I'll be
Oscar Madison. His character'
takes over in a certain state of
enhanced consciousness. I'll be
there and at the same time,
there's a little bubble in the back
of my mind that is still Ed Tiley.,
It's a bifurcated existence. For'
that hour and half, I get to liveW
twice in the same moment. It's:
intense-more powerful than any-;
thing I've ever done."
Of The Odd Couple, Tiley says the
casting is impressive. One actor
who has particularly impressed
him is Joe Shields, "a wild man
who cracks me up, although I'm
not allowed to show it on stage..
He does what really good actors
do. All during rehearsal he'll do it
this way, that way, probing till he
finds the essence of a line. On
stage, it's as good as it can be."
Continued on Page 6

St. George Island,

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rage o 31 JL VCLIJucIv r

.The Franklin Chronicle

Making A Play from Page 5

Tiley's other half of The Odd
Couple, Royce Hodge, likes the
"sort of nice guy, Felix, who drives
everybody crazy with finicky-ness
and whining, although he really
means well." For Hodge this play
is fun, forcing him to discipline
himself in ways he probably
would avoid otherwise. Since
1987, Hodge has acted with the
Panhandle Players in a number
of musical comedies and spoofs.
His favorite roles were as Walter
Mitty and in Plaza Suite.
For Hodge, the theater is all about
entertainment and fun. He likes
to amuse and entertain people,
has tap-danced on stage, sung in
chorales. "From a big family, I
learned early to be a ham. I make
fun of everything-am a generic
critic in this." With no care at all
for serious drama (takes more tal-
ent than he thinks he has), he
prefers musicals and comedies.
Hodge is an athlete as well as ac-
tor. A hiker and former marathon
runner, he likes the beach and his
menagerie of dogs. He bikes and
swims, visits the mountains regu-
larly, and travels often to the
northwest United States. A
Florida native born in Tampa, he
thrives outdoors in the sunshine.
While living in Atlanta, he sang
in the Bistro, performing his own
songs and playing the acoustic
guitar. A former psychologist with
the State of Georgia, he directed

the Atlanta Track Club and the
Peachtree Road Race. Hodge cred-
its these experiences with teach-
ing him that he "could do any-
thing in the world if I had to."
Hodge moved to Franklin County
in 1983, built his own house on
St. George Island-woodwork and
all-and later built three other
houses on the Island. He has
served as director of the
Apalachicola Seafood Festival and
Chamber of Commerce.
Hodge's love of the Panhandle is
due in part to the beauty of St.
George Island, Eastpoint, the
river, and the "very nice local
people." He doesn't like some of
the present changes, particularly
the "monster" houses on the Is-
land and the "tremendous tour-
ism promotion." While he and his
wife have no children, they do
share a lab mix, a red-bone coon
hound, and a rat terrier. The en-
tire group travels to Utah every
year. Hodge describes himself as
"usually a pretty good guy with a
real interest in the area, the the-
ater and how it relates to the com-
munity."
Of The Odd Couple, Hodge con-
siders Neil Simon a most clever
and funny writer. While some
people think Hodge is "sort of like
Felix," Hodge says, "Perhaps, but
I can be sort of a slob too. This
play has a wonderful cast, all
working hard, the crew behind the
scenes sitting and listening to this
every night. The director's getting

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ready to have a breakdown (this
is her directing debut). This is the
most difficult play we could have
chosen."
A recent addition to the cast is
Merel Young who plays Vinnie.
Young has directed many musi-
cals and plays, and participated
in the past two annual variety
shows presented by the Pan-
handle Players. A retired music
teacher, he directs the choir at the
St. George Island Methodist
Church.
The laughter begins on Friday,
November 7, at 8:00 p.m. at the
Dixie Theatre in downtown
Apalachicola and continues at
8:00 p.m. on Saturday, Novem-
ber 8. A matinee performance is
scheduled for Sunday, November
9 at 3:00 p.m. All tickets are
$10.00, now available from any
cast member, or before the per-
formance at the Dixie Theatre box
office.

By Harriett Beach
The Franklin County -Planning
and Zoning Commission met in
their regular session at the
Franklin County Courthouse An-
nex on Tuesday October 14, 2003
at 6:30 p.m. Members present
were Vicki Barnett, Tony
Millender, Joseph Parrish, Steve
Davis and Mary Lou Short. Chair-
person Gail Dodds, William Key
and Rose Drye were absent.
Twenty county residents were
present at the meeting.
Vice Chairperson Short presided
over the meeting. After approval
of the minutes of the September
9, 2003 meeting, the Board dis-
cussed the Monthly Building Re-
port that lists all the building per-
mits issued. Short had a question
about the legal description on
permit #16371 for demolition of
a structure on a property in The

Plantation. Short was concerned
as she pointed out that she lives
in The Plantation.
Critical Short Line
Applications
There were six requests to build
private docks or piers. Two re-
quests were for permission to
build a dock and pier on Alligator
Point, two requests were for per-
mission to build docks in.Lanark
Beach and two requests were for
permits to build a dock and a
boat-lift on an existing dock on
St. George Island. All of the re-
quests were approved.
Large Scale Land Use
Change

The Phipps Corporation requested
a large-scale land use change for
property in the St. George Island
Plantation on St. George Island.
Alan Pierce, County Planner, pre-
sented this item to the Board with
the suggestion that this request
was too legally complex for the
Board to consider as they had no
legal representation. He told the
Board that in order for the change
to be made the Phipps Corpora-
tion would have to do three
things: 1. Get a Land Use Change.
2. Amend the Development Order.
3. Create a PUD that will have to
be approved by the BOCC. He
suggested that the Board just
pass this item on to the commis-
Continued on Page 7

CARRABELLTE

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AILS,

The Franklin Chronicle

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31 October 2003 Paip 7

P&Z from Page 6
sioners without comment. The
Board unanimously agreed to
pass this on to the BOCC.
Preliminary Plat Approval
Larry Witt, agent for Frances W.
Survec owner of a 17 lot subdivi-
sion by the name of "Fairway
Park" located in Section 12, Town-
ship 7 South, Range 4 West,
Lanark, Franklin County, Florida
requested a preliminary Plat ap-
proval. This subdivision is 18 feet
above sea level and will be on
public sewer and water. The
Board approved this Preliminary
Plat.

Final Plat Approval
There were two requests for Final
Plat Approval. One request was
for a 32 lot subdivision "Village
Green By the Sea" lying in Sec-
tion 12, Township 7 South, Range
4 West, Lanark, Franklin County,
Florida. The other request was for
a 14 lot subdivision named
"Golden Acre's II" lying in section
28, Township 8 South, Range 6
West, Eastpoint, Franklin County,
Florida. Both requests were tabled
until next meeting because nei-
ther of the owners had received
the storm-water and binding let-
ters required for the Final Plat
Approval.
It was pointed out to the Board
that the Department of Environ-

mental Protection is behind in
sending out the necessary
storm-water and binding letters.
It could take possibly two to three
weeks for them to catch up and
this is holding up the development
plans. Pierce suggested that
Franklin County Engineer, Chris
Clark, could go out to the prop-
erties and make the necessary
wetland delineation. The Board
members were not comfortable
with this suggestion and preferred
to wait until the necessary docu-
mentation from DEP arrived.

Rezoning Request
John Carroll, owner, requested
that a property at 412 Hwy. 98,
Section 31, Township 8 South,
Range 6 West, Eastpoint, Franklin
County, Florida be rezoned from
C-1 Commercial Fishing to C-4
Commercial Mixed Use. Neither
the owner nor his agent were
present to present this item to the
Board.
In the discussion about the
re-zoning request, Pierce stated
that there needs to be a reason-
able exception in the C-1 Com-
mercial Fishing Zone District so
that the owners could still use it
for other than just for oystering
or fishing. Short pointed out that
there are three violations in the
C- 1 District in Eastpoint that are
being used as restaurants and
she knew of another that had
up-stairs apartments. Pierce
stated that the restaurants and
apartments were without his

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knowledge and since Franklin
County has no occupational li-
cense it is hard to regulate the
businesses unless a permit has
been issued or a new commercial
building constructed. Steve Davis,
Member representing the Seafood
Industry, told the Board that they
need to keep in mind that
Franklin County has about 210
miles of coastline and that only
two miles of this coastline have
been designated for C- 1 Commer-
cial Fishing. To re-zone this land
would be detrimental to the Fish-
ing Industry. The Board tabled
this re-zoning request until proper
representation was present.

Proposed Dock Ordinance
The P&Z Board held a workshop
at 6:30 p.m., on October 2, 2003
at the Carrabelle Library to dis-
cuss recommendations to the pro-.
posed Dock Ordinance. Present
were members Steve Davis, Rose
Drye, Vicki Barnett, Mary Lou
Short and Gail Dodds. Rachel
Ward and Amy Hamm from the
Planning Department were also
present. There were 5 Franklin
County residents in the audience.
Barnett presented 10 ordinances
from other counties in Florida for

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the Board to consider. They dis-
cussed the concept of a Dock Plot
that was a parcel of land on a
waterway that was so small that
it could only support a dock. They
also discussed acceptable lighting
for the docks and the nee for a
survey to determine riparian
rights before a dock could be con-
structed. Unfortunately there
were no Dock Builders in the au-
dience that could offer resource
information to the Board mem-
bers.
At the regular meeting on Octo-
ber 14, 2003, the P&Z Board con-
tinued their discussion on the
Proposed Dock Ordinance. It was
agreed that the County Planning
staff would come up with the lan-
guage concerning the "Dock Plot"
definitions. Barnett provided ex-
ample pictures for the proposed
downward shielded lights on the'
docks.

Proposed C-4 Changes
At the October 2, 2003 P&Z work-
shop there was a long discussion
of the proposed C-4 changes that
will affect the Commercial District
of St. George Island. A C-4 (A)
designation is intended to provide

for a mixture of compatible com-
mercial and residential uses in
the Commercial District of St.
George Island. Short pointed out
that she lives in The Plantation
on St. George Island and has a
business on the Island thus she X
understands the problems of the
Commercial District. The Board
discussed what would have to be
done to prepare the Ordinance
change for presentation to the
BOCC.
At the October 14, 2003 regular
meeting of the P&Z there was a
discussion of requiring the first
habitable floors being used for
commercial purposes as opposed
to 50% of the floor space of the -
structure. There were other con-
cerns about parking and
storm-water issues. Davis stated
that he felt the building should
be 50% or more commercial and -
no more than 50% residential.
The Board unanimously agreed to
recommend this item to the BOCC
to review the proposed draft and
to have Michael Shuler, County
Attorney review it as well.

MOMMEMENEW

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ney Michael Shuler and building
officials Robin Brinkley and Chris
Giametta were also present.
Rachel Ward, former building of-
ficial and now with the Planning
and Zoning Department was also
present.
After approval of the minutes of
last month the Board addressed
the item tabled at the September
meeting. Debbie Brett had filed a
complaint against Cliff Renn for
signing a Certificate of Occupancy
on a house .that was owner con-
structed and sold to Debbie and
Thad Brett by Tony Brock. Cliff
Renn had never done any work
on the house on Alligator Point
and had only signed the CO at the
request of Rachel Ward to help
Tony Brock sell the house. The
house was found to have a list of
problems the Bretts wish to have

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corrected. Thad Brett, represent-
ing his wife, suggested that Brock
gave false information to Ward to
enlist her help in selling the
house.
The complaint was originally filed
with the State and was then re-
ferred back to Franklin County for.
action. Brock offered to return to
the house to correct the problems.
The Bretts declared that his work-
manship was defective and they
wanted the work done correctly.
Brett said that he had been ad-
vised by the State to sue. The
Board tabled the complaint until
the results from the court pro-
ceedings, if any, could be heard.
After the meeting, a workshop was
held to present information on
Workers Compensation in the
Construction Industry. Mr.
Harold Ross and Mr. Greg Mills
from the State presented and in-'
terpreted the legal rule changes
brought on by recent State Legis-
lation. They answered numerous
questions from the contractors in
the audience and the Franklin
County Building Department. The
meeting was adjourned at 7:45
p.m.

sistence of the dissenting council
members, the resolution was re-
worded to add "and shall not be
extended beyond 60 days.. -
The October 23 meeting started
the process of deciding just how
to charge, and how much to
charge.
Ordinances
307-Adopted: Carrabelle voters to
decide whether to do any sewer/
water work outside the city limits
before all existing customers have
been provided service.
308-Adopted: Carrabelle voters to
decide whether to repeal the PUD
zoning category and adopt
Franklin County's building regu-
lations. This is generally agreed
to be in response to fear of tall
buildings.
311, 312, 313-first readings: Ap-
prove a prison, annex the land for
the prison, annex the property
known as Bridge Marina.

Discussion (October 23)
This was a general discussion,
attended by a handful of citizens
in a room that would easily seat
100. The main result was the
statement of a village number.
"Mils," or tenths of one percent,'
are the fractions of city income
that pays for services.
From projects on the boards now,
$1.8 million is needed. 12 mils
would pay that bill. Mr. Brown
broke down the possible recipi-
ents of that income as follows: 4
mils- streets, 3 mils- fire, then to

Continued on Page 10

The Weatherization program repaired the roof and floors
and replaced the doors and windows in this mobile home
in Eastpoint where the handicapped parents of three school
age children reside.

By Harriett Beach
During this past year there have
been 21 Franklin County families
who have been assisted by the
Capital Area Community Action
Agency Weatherization Programs.
The Weatherization Programs pro-
vide emergency housing repairs
and improve home energy effi-
ciency for low-income residents in
Gadsden, Franklin and Gulf
Counties. October 30 has been
designated National Weatheriza-
tion Day in the effort to let Florida
residents know that these pro-
grams are there to provide help'
or those who qualify and need it.
The Weatherization Assistance
Program (WAP) helps to make the
homes of people living on
low-incomes more comfortable
and cost efficient by one or more
of the following:

physically impaired.
*.Repair walls, floors and ceilings.
* Replace shower-heads.
To be eligible for either program,
applicants must reside in Gulf,
Gadsden or Franklin Counties
and the household income may
not exceed 150% of the national
poverty level. If the household's
income is greater than this
amount, the applicant may still
be eligible because some types of
income are not counted. The ap-
plicant must apply for assistance
with the office in the county in
which they live. Preference is
given to -owner-occupied, elderly
(60 and older), disabled, families
with children under twelve and
households with a high energy
burden (repeated high utility
bills). Application for the pro-
grams in Franklin County can be
made at two Capital Area Com-
munity Action Agency, Inc. ser-
vice areas: 137 12th St.
Apalachicola, FI 32320
(850-653-8057) 203 North 5th
St. Carrabelle, Fl 32322 *
(850-697-5337).
After applying for the programs,
eligibility is determined and an
on-site evaluation and diagnostic
test is done to determine the re-
pair work plan for the home. Pro-
essionally trained crews then
complete the repair work in a cost
effective way. The post weather-
ization services provide for final
testing and inspection of the mea-
sures and quality of the workman-
ship. As a final test the client util-
ity bills are checked 60 days and
one year after the work is com-
pleted. Funding for these pro-
grams is received through the
Florida Department of Commu-
nity Affairs. The extent of the ser-
vices to be provided is contingent
on available funding. In addition
to State funding, the Capital Area
Community Action Agency, Inc.
also accepts donations to these
programs. Donations may be sent
to either of the Franklin County
service areas.

.v _.. .-...._-- =

The Weatherization program replaced and repaired flooring
in this mobile home in Lanark Beach where a family of
three with a handicapped parent lives.
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CHRONICLE
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Mailed subscriptions within Franklin County
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issues. The out-of county rate is $22.26 in-
cluding taxes.

Apalachee Publishing from Page 1
over the toilet at the time of your first conversation with him
after the law enforcement discovered the cameras?
A I believe I did.
Q What was his response?
A That was awfully stupid, and indicated that we would
be talking very soon.
Mr. Lee installed the security system. In his deposition, he said:
SQ Can you tell us who installed the surveillance cameras
in the present building?
A Idid.
o And where did you install all the surveillance
cameras, in what locations ot the building?
A Initially I installed three cameras, one was in the
area where we keep the main electronic server, computer server,
one in the area that was designated as part of the darkroom, and
one in the front production area.
Q What were the purposes of these surveillance cameras?
A Security surveillance.
Q The one that you are referring to as a part of the
darkroom, are you talking about that as the one that was
installed in the bathroom?
A In the unisex bathroom, yes.
Q That particular camera was installed through an
air vent in the ceiling; is that correct?
A That's correct.
Q Can you explain to me why you installed it in the
ceiling in an air duct as opposed to mounting it on a wall or
mounting it somewhere where you could see someone's face?
A At the time of the installation it was simply a matter
of convenience. I wanted a camera on the left side of the
building where the server was, a camera on the right-hand side of
the building near the back part, which was the most isolated from
the street, and then I wanted one up front that showed the front
door, the entire area in the front.
Q Were there mechanisms involved with taping these
particular locations?
A Yes, there were.
Q Were there tapes made of these surveillance areas that
,you had?
A Yes, there were.
Q Where are those tapes?
A In my office now. I don't recall taking any out.
Q You don't recall taking any out?
A No.
Q Did the law enforcement officers that served the
search warrant back in 1998 seize any of the videos?
A They seized all of the videos.
Q Were there supposed to be surveillance tapes on those
videos?
A Yes.
Q If there were not, what would that indicate to you?
A Idon't know. .
Q If the tapes did not have any surveillance pictures on
them?
A I would be surprised at that statement.

The Civil Counts and Discussion of the Evidence
Invasion of Privacy, Counts I and V. The motion argued that the evi-
dence propounded by the plaintiffs must show a deliberate intent on
the part of the Times to (1) invade plaintiffs' privacy by both public
disclosure of private facts and intrusion upon seclusion, and (2) in-
tentionally inflict emotional distress upon plaintiffs. Defendant Lee
and the Times argued through his counsel that the plaintiffs have
not proven intent on the part of the Times. The Times was "a mere
occupant of Defendant Lee's building and did not have any knowl-
edge of the presence of a video camera in the bathroom. Moreover,
the facts show that an invasion of privacy did not occur. Moreover,
with regard to. Count I, the motion argued that the evidence does not
support any contention on the part of the plaintiffs that private infor-
mation concerning them was ever publicly disclosed. 'Therefore, judg-
ment in favor of the Times concerning invasion of privacy by public
disclosure of private facts is proper." Continuing, the motion stated,
"However, the Plaintiffs have failed to assert any facts which would
prove that the Times engaged in any act giving publicity to private
acts engaged in by Plaintiffs. Of particular interest is Plaintiffs' alle-
gation that the "feed" for the camera went into Mr. Lee's office. It was
not connected to a monitor that fed into the news area where lots of

Carrabelle from Page 8

transfer to a new City Hall, 1 mil-
admin, 1 mil- police, 1 mil- water/
sewer (possibly to go to 3 mils).
Other talk revolved around charg-
ing impact fees as a percentage
of the selling price of the built
dwelling, or of the undeveloped
land, or both." There was general
agreement that a square footage
allocation would not have the flex-
ibility to accommodate inflation
and appreciation.
The City has facilities (fire station,,,
tennis courts, police station, city
hall) that are located on city land
that has appreciated greatly and
could be sold. The possibility was
brought up by Mr. Brown and
Commissioner Saunders that the
ball park property, owned by the
city, could house all these facili-
ties. The Post Office could then
move also, and lease land from
the city. The City could then en-
joy paid for, new facilities and
would have freed up prime down-
town land for future uses.

At the October 23rd workshop,
the group discussed the problem
of there not being enough boat
ramps in good condition for the
existing population. There was
concern that the future influx of
population will demand more boat
ramps. The group discussed the
proliferation of docks and piers
along the water areas. It was sug-
gested that community docks
would be better than many pri-
vate docks.
There was concern about the de-
struction of the many archeologi-
cal sites in the St. James Island
area. One site is now actively be-
ing illegally excavated. Within the
St. James Island area, a sizable
bear population moves about for-
aging for food and going to and
from a cubbing area near Bear
Creek and Bear Island in the
northern portion of St. James Is-
land. There are many other spe-
cies of plants and animals that
live on St. James Island that must
be protected. Over development
will destroy their habitat.
The group spoke of the need for
bike trails and better transporta-
tion routes as part of the planned
development. A northern road
paralleling Hwy. 98 would pre-
serve Hwy. 98 as a scenic road.
Refurbishing the railway to
Wakulla and Franklin Counties
would make access to the areas
more expedient
Billy Buzzett emphasized that The
St. Joe Company wants the plan
for St. James Island development
to preserve the ecology of tlhe area.
At the same time, the St. Joe com-
pany is a business that needs to
develop a St. James Island devel-
opment plan that will be finan-
cially productive for the company.
When the group discussed the
mile corridor of land needed for
bear movement, Buzzett asked
"what can The St. Joe Company
develop there that will not disturb
the bears?" The audience re-
sponded with suggestions from a
native plant nursery farm to sup-
ply plants to the developing ar-
eas to bike trails.
The next St. James Overlay work-
shop will be October 30, at 6:00
p.m. at Chillas Hall in Lanark Vil-
lage. Transportation and Eco-
nomic Development will be the
planned discussion topics. The
discussions are relaxed and spir-
ited with many good ideas put
forth. St. Joe Company has many
maps of the area to view and
snacks to enjoy while sharing
ideas with your St. James Island
neighbors.

people would gather. Plaintiffs can produce no evidence that any pri-
vate acts were publicized. Furthermore, both Plaintiffs Paterson and
Elliott acknowledged that no videotapes containing a scene of the
bathroom were ever found, nor were there any rumors of any video-
tapes being produced and released to members of the public..."
In her deposition, Plaintiff Patterson stated that Defendant Lee had
informed Ms. Elliott, Nations and Patterson that his original inten-
tions for the bathroom were for it to double as a darkroom. The cam-
era was to be activated after normal working hours for security pur-
poses.
Q Were there any notices given to the employees that
these surveillance cameras were on and being operated?
A I don't recall what date there was notices put on the
front of the back door, signs that said there was electronic
surveillance.
Q Was it before or after the discovery of the camera
above the toilet? Continued on Page 11
Continued on Page 11

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In post and beam construction, the load-bearing
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* THE HOUSE: 2,100 square feet, heated or cooled, with cathedral living area, study, kitchen, four bedrooms
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* POST AND BEAM CONSTRUCTION: 41 pilings extend through each floor, holding up the roof system.
None of the exterior walls are load-bearing. There are three levels in this home built to'last. Post and Beam
construction is the best arid superb design for any building reposing on a pile of sand. 2100 square feet heated
and cooled. One of the last homes built on St. George Island by Mason Bean.
* ELEVATOR: by Sedgewick installed by Mowrey Elevators. Joined with a concrete ramp used for wheel-
chair accessibility to the living level. Cap also function as a dumbwaiter and is especially useful for transport-
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weather.
* CEILING FANS: In bedrooms and living areas.
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and TV soundtracks.
* SOLID-CORE DOORS: Throughout the house: New fiberglass doors for the exterior openings.
* CEMENT TILE ROOF: Guaranteed in writing for 50 years (when built, 1989); no fire hazard here as in the
case of wood cedar-shake shingles.
* CYPRESS SIDING: Cut into board and batton design; impervious to the harshest salt-infested Gulf winds.
* TILED KITCHEN AND BATHROOM: On the living level; one-half bath stubbed out in the loft area.
One-half bath at the utility level.
* MOTHER-IN-LAW FACILITIES: Are available at the utility level with plans; concrete foundation already
in place for a wall system and other alterations.
* FRAMING: Of floors incorporates library loads in the study, bedrooms and third level loft which is the
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* AN ENGINEERED FACILITY: For the floor system and the entire structure to carry above-average loads.
* HEAT PUMP AND AIR CONDITIONING: Split-plan design by Ollie Gunn and Trane (General Electric).
* EXTERIOR WALLS: Incorporating six-inch studs for greater insulation; None of the exterior or interior
walls in this home are load-bearing.
Augered pilings were installed in
this house instead of driven
-e pilings. Forty-one 8x8" poles
.-,extend from the ground to the roof
I- 1'1 in a classic post-and-beam design,
the recommended mode for any
,island construction on sand.

market until you've been to Help-U-Sell.
Traditional real estate brokers show you their listings and then those on the Multiple Listing Service. You may
think that's all there are. But there are more-maybe dozens more. And we have the list.
You see, as Help-U-Sell brokers, we deal with homesellers who may choose not to put their home on the Multiple
Listing Service. Frankly, they like to avoid paying the commissions that go with traditional real estate brokers. And
we have the list.
So, if you're shopping for a home, be sure to call us for our Free Weekly List of homes you won't see anywhere
else. We'll give you the address and phone numbers of the sellers so you can call Ihem directly. Yes, you can.

Apalachee Publishing from Page 10
A Before.
'Q And it just said this area, this building is subject
to electronic surveillance?
A I don't recall the exact wording.
Q Is it still there?
A I don't recall.
) And so I can understand, and Miss Elliott can
understand, because she's more familiar with the building, where
were these signs?
A On the front door, left- or right-hand side of the
front door where the employees entered each day, and then one on
the back door.
Q Were there any surveillance cameras located where you
could see the exits and entrances to the building?
A The one in front.
0 That was on the inside, however?
A That's correct.
Q You could not see the part where the door is on the
outside or the entrance to the building from any surveillance
camera?
A Through the glass doors.
Q Was this one mounted at an angle where you could see
through the glass doors?
A Yes.
Q Was the one at the entrance mounted so you could see
the person's face?
A I hope.
Q What about the one over the piece of equipment that
you were concerned about, the server, I thinkyou called it?
A Not a good facial view.
Q And the one in the bathroom, it's almost impossible to,
see the person's face; is that. correct?
A The same as the one in the server.
Q Very difficult to see the person's face, correct?
A You would not get a frontal shot of the face, that's
correct.
Q Was there any type of notice given to the employees at
the entrance to the bathroom that they were going to be
surveilled while in the bathroom?
A Only on the front door of the building and the back
door of the building.
Q But not on the entrance to the bathroom?
A No, only the front door of the building and the back
door of the building were the only notices.
Q There has been a lot of testimony regarding the issue
of the particular portion of the building that everyone there
knew as the bathroom, that that had an alternative intention, or
alternative utility as being a darkroom. I haven't heard anybody
testify to that.
Is it your testimony that that bathroom was
alternatively at some point going to be used as a darkroom?
A It was constructed with that possibility in mind.
Counts II and III "
These counts involved allegations by Plaintiffs against the Times for
negligent hiring and negligent retention of Mr. John Lee. The motion
also argues to dismiss these charges for lack of evidence. The testi-
mony of both Ms. Paterson and Ms. Elliott show that the Times was
not unreasonable in hiring Defendant Lee based on the information
available. "...The incidents Ms. Elliott discussed during her deposi-
tion in no way amount to 'dangerous propensities' for which the Times
should have been aware." The motion argues "...Plaintiffs can provide

no evidence that the Times was ever on notice of any alleged propen-
sity on the part of Defendant Lee to engage in the conduct of which he
has been accused."
As to the alleged negligent hiring and negligent retention issues in
the lawsuit, the deposition of Debra Elliott contains this language:
Q There's also an allegation in the complaint that the
Apalachicola Times and Apalachee Publishing company failed to
properly screen Mr. Lee's background regarding his propensities
toward harassing and intrusive behavior. What propensities are
you aware of that the Apalachicola Times or the Apalachee
Publishing Company could have learned that would indicate to them
that Mr. Lee had propensities toward harassing and intrusive
behavior?
A I don't know if harassment falls into this category,
but most of the employees he was rude and curt with them. And we
had multitudes of people quit And why the Lindsays never thought
it had anything to do with Mr. Lee rather than employees, I don't
know.
I was the only one that stayed on for any length of the
time. They came and went quite frequently. I probably worked
with there's no telling how many dozens of people I worked with
over the years,
Q Do you know if any of the former employees that quit
reported any of these behaviors to the Lindsays?
A I have no idea what they may have reported.
0 What about intrusive behavior? What intrusive behavior
should the Apalachicola Times or Apalachee Publishing Company
should have known or knew or should have known?
A I don't know if I quite know the terminology on
intrusive behavior to answer that particular portion of it.
0 To your knowledge did he engage in any behavior you
would consider intrusive other than the camera being found in the
bathroom?
A What do you mean by intrusive exactly? I am not for
sure exactly intruding -
MR. JENNINGS: Intruding on somebody's person or
privacy or presence, anything like that
A Not personally. The one I mentioned earlier that
Ms. Nations said he came into her rental property, that's the only
intrusive thing I am thinking of. So I would say, no.
Q Did Ms. Nations file any charges against him for coming
into her apartment?
A She didn't tell me that she did. I have no idea.
0 He was her landlord at the time, correct?
A Yes.
Q Did she tell you what time of day it was that he came
in?
A No, not that I recall. ''o )
Q There's an indication in the complaint that the
Defendants, Apalachicola Times, Apalachee Publishing Company and
Mr. Lee intentionally inflected emotional distress on the
Plaintiffs by engaging in reckless and extreme outrageous conduct.
What reckless and extreme outrageous conduct are you alleging that
the Apalachicola Times and Apalachee Publishing Company engaged
in?
A To me its extreme distress when every time you need to
use.the bathroom if you are not at your own house, you think twice
about even going to the restroom. You would rather just hold it
Continued on Page 12

Water And Sewer Infrastructure Installed
At Chronicle Compound In Eastpoint

Ben Withers Construction, Inc. is putting the finishing touches on
the water and sewer infrastructure at the 2.3-acre Chronicle com-
pound last week, completing the mandated collection system that
will serve the Eastpoint Theatre and associated buildings. The appli-
cation for the system, engineered by H-B Engineering (Tallahassee),
began last November 2002 and was only recently approved by the
Department of Environmental Protection in a nine-page letter.
The Eastpoint Water and Sewer group will install their "connecting
pit" sometime this week (October 26-November Ist) and the overall
system will have to be tested.
The first duplex, among four authorized by Franklin County, will be
located in the far west end of the compound and will be among the
first steel frame residential structures in Franklin County. That evo-
lution begins phase two of three. The third and final round will be
construction of the theatre complex and associated tenant businesses.
The service pipes for those units are shown at a temporary diagonal
in the pictures.with this report.
Phase One consisted of moving the Franklin Chronicle editorial build-
ings from Tallahassee to Eastpoint, accomplished late last year. An
archive-garage building was recently completed by Ben Withers and
Vulcan Steel (Sparks, Georgia).

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31 October 2003 Page 11

Pame 12 31 October 2003

A LOCALLY OWNED NEWSPAPER

The Franklin Chronicle

Apalachee Publishing from Page 11

than to go into some place where you don't know who is going to be
watching you because they have decided that they like to hide
cameras places.
You sit on the toilet and the first thing you do is
look up, look around. Okay, where can somebody have hidden
something. Then you can't even usually go after you sat there and
worried about that for five minutes. Its not fun to have that
going on in your mind.
Q Okay. What l am asking is, what conduct are you
alleging that the Apalachicola Times and Apalachee Publishing
Company engaged in or did, what thing did they do, that you
believe would amount to reckless and extreme outrageous conduct?
What did they do?
A They kept Mr. Lee employed for years when I don't think
he should have been employed from some of the things I have told
you that he has done around town that is general knowledge that
peopleall know of.
They kept him on, and never came up here. They never
talked to employees on any regularity at all to find out how
things were going at the paper, if everything was fine. I don't
know if they ever evaluated him or if they even cared what went on
up here with the newspaper.
Q You have no knowledge of whether they knew about all
the incidents that you told me about? I am talking about the
publishing company and the owners of the newspaper.

An investigation was conducted by law enforcement after the confis-
cation of all videos and video equipment in Defendant Lee's office on
or about February 26, 1998. No videos showing the interior of the
restroom were ever found. "Even after the discovery of the camera,
there is no evidence that the Times should have knowledge that De-
fendant Lee was unfit to perform his duties..." Plaintiff Paterson vol-
untarily terminated her employment with the Times the day of the
unannounced visit by the Franklin County Sheriffs Department Plain-
tiff Elliott was given paid leave for six months after the incident and
failed to return to work at the end of the leave period. The motion also
argued that the Plaintiffs had not suffered any physical injury.
The Plaintiffs contend that the Times intentionally engaged in con-
duct which was extreme or outrageous, knowing that it could cause
emotional distress. The Defendant's current motion argued the depo-
sitions did not offer evidence to support the intentional infliction claim.
As to Count V, a claim for invasion of privacy by intrusion upon se-
clusion was not supported by the evidence, so argued the motion
seeking summary judgment as to the Times. The intrusion must be
intentional. The evidence shows that the Times did not know about
the security system. The affidavit from Robert Lindsay defined his
knowledge of the situation in this manner:
"I, Robert Lindsay, during the time relevant to these pro-
ceedings was the owner of the Apalachee Publishing Com-
pany, d/b/a Apalachicola Times. At that time, Mr. John
Lee was the General Manager of the Apalachicola Times
(the Times). He had held that position since 1979. Mr.
Lee had been employed with the Times since 1975 and
was originally in sales. I had no knowledge of the video
camera being in the restroom until I received a telephone
call from Mr. Lee after the sheriffs deputies had removed
it. I did not request or instruct Mr. Lee to install the cam-
era and specifically did not instruct him to install the
same in the restroom.
The building in which the Times was located was owned
by Mr. Lee and his wife. Mr. Lee was responsible for the
plans and construction of the building. He did not con-
struct the building at my request. In fact, at the time he
began construction, I had made no commitment that the
Times would lease the facility. Although Mr. Lee told me
generally about the progress of the building, I was not
otherwise involved in the construction of the building. In
addition, I was not involved in Mr. Lee's decision to in-
stall a security system. I neither requested nor consulted
with Mr. Lee on the type or placement of any security
devices. That decision was made solely by Mr. Lee as the
building owner.
During the 23 years Mr. Lee worked for the Times, none
of the employees, including Plaintiffs, ever complained
to me, that Mr. Lee had engaged in any behavior that
was sexually harassing, demeaning, voyeuristic, or dan-
gerous. In fact, Plaintiff Elllott had worked with Mr. Lee
for his entire 23 years. The complaints I received from
staff were general in nature, i.e., Mr. Lee was rude and
yelled at people. The only incident of inappropriate be-
havior of which I am aware of during Mr. Lee's employ-
ment were arrests for driving under the influence. I ar-
ranged for Mr. Lee to attend a rehabilitation program and
advised him if the behavior was repeated he would be
terminated. To my knowledge, the behavior has not been
repeated.
None of the employees of the Times, including Plaintiffs,
ever contacted me to tell me that there was a camera
installed in the restroom or that they even suspected that
a camera was installed the rest room. As stated previ-
ously, I was not aware of the camera until I received the
call from Mr. Lee. Based on information provided to me
by Mr. Lee, the restroom area was at one point going to
double as a dark room and contain expensive equipment.
He stated that because of the expensive equipment being
in that area, a camera was needed in case of a break in.
At the time Mr. Lee told me about the camera, he also
told me that the Sheriffs Office had confiscated the cam-
era and was conducting an investigation. I advised Mr.
Lee that if the investigation showed, that he engaged in
any illegal or immoral behavior, he would be terminated.

Intervening Matter
Counsel for the plaintiffs, William Jennings of DeFuniak Springs,
Florida, has asked the Court for another notice of hearing, for an
Order Allowing the Attorney to be released as attorney of record in-
volving plaintiff Cynthia Nations. Ms. Nations has not appeared for
several scheduled deposition times and attorneys for Mr. Lee and the
Times have moved to dismiss her interest in the case and ignore her
testimony. A hearing was requested for November 24th or earlier but
the Court has not ruled a date for this motion, nor the motion for
summary judgment as of press time of this issue.

Redistricting from Page 1

ship 7 South, Franklin County, Florida; thence West along said sec-
tion line, not the city limit line, to its intersection with the centerline
of the Carrabelle River; thence in a southwest direction to the centerline
of the New River; thence North along the centerline of the New River
to the Franklin County line.
There was no answer to the question about settling the lawsuit be-
tween the Concerned Citizens of Franklin County, Inc., and the Board
of County Commissioners as of Friday, October 24th. The County
Attorney has asked the attorney for Concerned Citizens if his pro-
posal would "settle this suit based on this offer." Mr. Robert Rivas,
attorney for Concerned Citizens, advised Mr. Shuler that Concerned
Citizens had not reviewed the new plan. He advised Mr. Shuler that
"A settlement offer would require that the County Commission enact
a plan approved by Concerned Citizens, and agree to reimburse Con-
cerned Citizens for its attorney's fees and costs." Mr. Rivas raised the
proposition of expediting the process of having Concerned Citizens,
Inc. evaluate the new plan, which would also involve the Commis-
sioners becoming available for depositions on an expedited basis.

(303) War Comes To Florida's Northern Gulf Coast by
Marlene Womack. Published by Michael Womack Publi-
cations, 2002, 207 pp. Oversize. In this area's first com-
prehensive book on World War II, you'll read about Gen.
Patton's visit to Panama City, the establishment of
Tyndall, Eglin and Dale Mabry fields and the secret de-
velopment of Camp Gordon Johnston, the torpedoing of
the Empire Mica by a German U-boat and many other
events. Bookshop price = $40.00.

Saint Georg

e Island & Apal
from Early ExT
to World

achicola

.-7p3 .4

RICHARD EDWARD NOBLE

(305) Hobo-ing America by Richard Edward Noble, Pa-
perback. A humorous, light-hearted, workingman's, true
life, travel adventure story. Work your way around
America with Dick & Carol ... feel the pain and the joy ...
shake the calloused hands that make America what it is.

K Bookshop price = $14.00.

SWhat's the big deal about seeing
the U.S.A. anyway? Ten million
Americans go off to see the U.S.
everyday. How many trite descrip-
tions of the Grand Canyon does
one need in his library? Well, to
put it mildly, I think that seeing
America clinging to the elbow of
Carol and Dick, will be an awak-
ening for most Americans no mat-
ter how many times they have
toured the U.S.A.

)lorati .-u *' I
loratn. If you toured Ameririca by'Way 'of
I War II Ramada Inns across the country,.
you would undoubtedly consider
the U.S. to be a country full of
"" well-dressed salesmen. If you
went by way of McDonald's fran-
chises you would, more than
likely, consider acne to be a ma-
jor epidemic in the States. If you
drove one of those big trucks,
America will be an interstate high-
way, gas stations, bathrooms, and
a never ending chain of sleepy
eyes, cigarettes, blue jeans, giant
belt buckles, and little girls
knocking on your sleeper window
saying ... Can you spare fifty dol-
lars for a cup of coffee, Sir?

(21) Outposts on the, Gulf by William Warren Rogers. Uni-
versity of Florida Press, Hardcover, 297 pp. In this book,
Rogers traces and documents the economic, social and
political emergence of the Gulf coast port of Apalachicola
and the pristine barrier island, Saint George. From the
earliest times, both the island and Apalachicola have be-
come intertwined. The account of the machinations of con-
troversial developer William Lee Popham is the first phase
of area development, later leading to the controversial
struggles of the 1970s when environmentalists and sea-
food industries fought to'determine the ecological and eco-
nomic fate of the Bay area. The Chronicle has obtained
a fresh supply of newly reprinted volumes at an at-
tractive price. Available elsewhere for $35.95 plus ship-
ping and handling. The Chronicle Bookshop price is much
cheaper at $25.00 per volume.

THE FEVER MAN
A Biography of Dc John Gorrie

(192) Vivian Sherlock's
ography of John Gor
The Fever Man, is avails
once again after be
out-of-print for more t
a decade. This is the st
of John Gorrie, young p
sician who invented an
machine" that many ar
was a forerunner to air c
ditioning dozens of ye
later. His cooling device
developed to provide r
to his suffering yellow fE
patients. A museum
Apalachicola to this
marks the work of J(
Gorrie just across from
last resting place in Go
Square, down from Tri
Church. This book t
what is now known ab
Dr. Gorrie, his work and
ice machine. Paperba
New, 151 pp. Books]
price = $10.00

If you toured with Charles Kuralt,
a fine adventure indeed, you will
Nevertheless see America as, a
Country full of semi-retired,
middle aged folks or better, all of
whom can knit, sew, weave on a
hand loom, whittle a Louisville
Slugger from an old scrub oak
tree, or construct a Stradivarius
in their barn using nothing but
Popsicle sticks and a rusty, old,
double-edged razor blade. Come
along with Carol and Dick and live
in the places where Charles
Kuralt was afraid to park his bus
.... even for an overnight stay.
Meet, and tour the homes of the
ninety-eight percent of America
that will not be televised on the
lives of the rich and famous. Come
with us and grovel in the dust,
S'dirt, and sweat,....feel the pain,

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joy, and anger and shake the cal-
lused hands that make America
what it is. We'll tip it all upside
down and see America bottom
side up. Stay with us in the fields,
groves, orchards, under equip-
ment shelters and county bridges.
Meet the homeless, the helpless,
the bent over, the rich, the poor
and the ugly.
See America in its glory and its
shame. See it from the'highways,
the sidewalks, and the gutters.
Meet Asians, Indian's, Jamaicans,
Haitians, Mexicans. Meet most of
them in one chicken factory in
central Arkansas on the third
shift. Find out the answer to the
question that has plagued most
of America for three decades...
Why don't tomatoes taste like they
used to when I was a kid? ... At
the same time, find out why you
can jump up and down on the top
of a bag of peaches and barely
bruise the skin. Find out why you
can hardly tell the difference be-
tween an apple and a banana if
you eat them both with your eyes
closed. Learn the author's, not yet
famous and soon to be forgotten,
apple theory of value. Find out
why it makes no difference
whether you eat a tree-ripened
sweet cherry, or a chocolate bar.
Find out why you should eat up
the box and throw the corn flakes
away. Find the' answer to all of
these burning questions and
many, many more. See America
from the bottom of the cracker
barrel. Come along with Carol and
Dick. Talk to the "Crackers", and
fill the barrels. See our America.
I don't know if following Dick and
Carol up the furrows, and down
the assembly lines of this land will
change your lives as it has
changed ours, but I can guaran-
tee that you will see America as
you have never seen it before.

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